And here we have Heidi! She is one of our pups currently at the Paws In Prison Program. If you aren’t familiar with the program, it is a training program that was started in AR about 15 years ago. It is where you enroll a dog and they are paired with 2 inmates. These inmates have gone through training themselves, to learn how to properly train the dogs. Once enrolled, the dog lives at the prison with the inmates for 8 weeks. During that time, they are trained in basic obedience. They learn skills like house training, basic commands, leash walking, manners, etc. The inmates and the dogs all meet with the trainer once a week in a common area, where all the dogs are together, and each week they show the trainer what they have learned, and get assigned new tasks for the following week. Each inmate keeps a journal on their dog. The journal is passed along to the adopter once the dog is adopted. The journal tells all about the dog, what they have learned, what they still need to work on, likes/dislikes, etc. At the end of the 8 weeks, the dog goes through the Canine Good Citizen test. If they pass, they graduate. If not, they stay a little longer and continue learning, until they pass! It is an absolutely amazing program and is so beneficial for the dogs and the inmates!

Here’s what they have to say about Heidi-