7 Puppies For Prison
Denver Women’s Correctional Facility (DWCF) in Denver, Colorado will be going to the dogs in February, and persons with disabilities will be benefitting from that transformation.
The facility, which is part of the Colorado Department of Corrections, is a part of The Prison Trained K-9 Companion Program (PTKCP) a program which provides the outside community with pre-trained dogs. PTKCP is partnering with Colorado Service Dogs, Inc., to train service dogs to assist persons with disabilities. When these seven, sixteen week old puppies graduate in a month they will be trained in their basic manners which includes sit to greet a person, sit to go through a door, crate training and house training. They will also receive their basic obedience training which includes: sit, sit-stay, down, down-stay, come when called and basic heeling on lead.
“This program not only benefits persons with disabilities who will gain more independence from these dogs, it also helps the inmates to become more productive citizens once they are released.” says Colorado Service Dogs, Co-Founder Lija Day.
The PTKCP is an inmate vocational program that allows inmates to learn new skills and improve self-esteem. Inmates from the PTKCP are eligible to earn vocational certification in Canine Behavior Modification while simultaneously preparing dogs to assist persons with disabilities. The program is part of the Department’s Re-Entry initiative, which is focused on preparing inmates for successful re-entry into society upon release from the correctional facility.
When these seven puppies complete the program, they will be released to Colorado Service Dogs, Inc., for additional training before being placed with persons with disabilities.
Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/
