At Augusta State Medical Prison in Georgia, men in custody are working with rescue dogs that had gone unplaced in shelters, giving both the animals and their handlers an uncommon fresh start.
The effort has led to more than 120 adoptions and has also given participants behind bars a stronger sense of meaning, as WRDW reported.
Here's what to know
At Augusta State Medical Prison, inmates foster and train rescue dogs through a program called Pups in the Pen. Over a little more than two years, the initiative has helped place more than 120 dogs in homes, the station reported.
Hayley Zielinski, who co-founded the rescue Dog Networking Agents, helps run the effort. Until their training is finished, the dogs remain with their handlers all day and night, an arrangement that can help animals dealing with medical or behavioral challenges become steadier and more adoptable.
"These guys, they've lost their identity," Zielinski said of inmates, per the station. "I think these dogs, they give them a purpose."
According to Karen Smith-Buckley, a Dog Networking Agents volunteer, the value of the program extends well beyond teaching commands.
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"Some of these guys are in for many years and some are lifers that may never get out, but it's given them the ability to live, to want to change their lives," Smith-Buckley told WRDW.
More background
Many of the dogs in the program are the ones shelters were reportedly unable to place, including animals whose health or behavior has made adoption especially challenging.
Dogs with behavioral issues can be some of the toughest animals to rehome. With this program, prisoners are doing their part to help rehabilitate these pets, so they can find a new forever home.
Hope was one of them. WRDW reported that she was discovered near a trash can, emaciated and barely alive, and although a veterinarian recommended euthanasia, she was sent to Pups in the Pen.
"I went in the next day and we couldn't believe the difference," Zielinski recounted to the outlet.
She has since been adopted into a permanent home.
"The changes are unreal," Smith-Buckley told WRDW. "The guys come up and they are like, you changed my life."
What's being done?
Participants also make bracelets and key chains to sell, and the station said the proceeds are used to buy dog food for local families having a hard time feeding their pets.
"These guys from behind those prison walls are funding the whole thing," Zielinski explained to WRDW. "They are helping us save dogs from shelters and also preventing them from entering shelters."
People who want to assist Dog Networking Agents can donate, volunteer, shop from the organization's Amazon wish list, or buy a $10 bracelet or key chain.
The saga shows that even for humans and animals at a low point, there is a chance for redemption, recovery, and service to others.
"It doesn't matter where you are in life, where you live, you can never let that define you," Zielinski declared to WRDW. "You can give back to your community."
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