An inmate rehabilitation program is pairing up shelter dogs with incarcerated people in California, hoping to benefit both parties.
Pawsitive Change is placing dogs from Marley’s Mutts Rescue Ranch with the incarcerated individuals for 14 weeks for a supervised foster program. This is in aims to help the dogs learn socialization skills and to ready them for adoption.
During each cycle, 24 to 30 inmates will be paired with eight to 10 dogs. The founder of the program Jordan Karcher believes this program will also help inmates learn valuable skills, “not only professional animal training, but also the basics of leadership and teamwork.”
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According to the Rescue Ranch, the dogs that are considered for this program are those who would not be considered adoptable due to behavioral challenges. This also brings a sense of responsibility and other benefits for the inmates, as many of them may decide to pursue a career in animal care after their release.
So far, there have been nearly zero percent recidivism rates among participants.
