Not sure if this is the right forum but this sounded like a good behind the walls story!

New Leash on Life

In an innovative program, prison inmates are raising puppies to be guide dogs for the blind

Six prisons in three states have already welcomed them into their facilities--tiny, 8-week-old puppies in need of discipline, care and a little bit of love. But the dogs' raisers are not the prison officials or even the corrections officers; they are the prisoners themselves.

Through a nonprofit program called Puppies Behind Bars, prison inmates can raise guide dogs for blind people--and, since 9/11, bomb-sniffing police dogs.

Raising a potential guide dog is a serious and lengthy proposition. Puppies spend 16 months in the care of inmates who are responsible for their nurturing and training 24 hours a day. At night, the puppies curl up in the prisoners' locked cells.

In a way, the prison serves as a sort of canine prep school. The "puppy raisers," as they are called, teach the dogs manners and obedience before they begin formal training. But the teachers are learning even more, and their babies' puppy love is unlocking qualities they never knew they possessed.

Click the link to see the photos
http://www.smithsonianmag.si.edu/smithsonian/issues04/aug04/leash.html

I 've heard of programs like this.There is also a program(not sure where,but i know its out there)where the inmates train the dogs to warn a person prone to them of an impending seizure.There are also programs where the inmates learn to groom the dogs(like a professional groomer.Not just brushing them)so they have a skill when they are released.
Something good DOES come out of prison,I guess.
patybear

I think these programs are so neat! My man has been training dogs for about 2 years. I've seen them a few times at visit and they're so cute and well behaved. The one he works with the most now is Ryann..she's adorable. :)
Here's a link if you'd like to take a look...

http://www.circletail.org (http://www.circletail.org/)

god I wish I had that in the prison I was in I love dogs

One of my pen pals was involved in this program and she loved it. Funny, I was recently thinking about asking her about it in my next letter. It just may break the ice and make her write back a bit :)

yeah that's great, I always looked at that on animal planet, program called cell dogs.. I think it's a great thing they do!!

wow. i bet that would give the inmates a smile and a happy feeling. plus, its a sight they would normally only see on the outside. im glad that they were able to do this.

yes I think it's neat...my brother in law has a puppy named rachel that he trains...he loves it.

I wonder where all they have this kind of program at?

I wish they had this where my husband is. He loves dogs so much. I always tell him I am going to write to the warden and ask if he can get a doggie. :)

I heard of this and read a similar article. It's a great service and is rewarding for the blind as well as therapeutic for the inmates.

Yeah my pen pal is a lifer and will probably never own a dog. And she totally loves dogs. So it's great that she got to raise a puppy - and teach it things that helps other people. It's very rewarding thing to do and in all the articles I've read about this program so far I only read very enthousiastic reactions from the inmates. They're happy to be able to do give something positive back to society in this way.

I wish there were more programs like this and that it was available in every prison. I think it's a very good initiative.

Where can i go to find out if they offer this program where im at?

They have this program where my honey is at but only non-violent offenders are allowed to particpate in this program. I think that all should particiapte as things of this nature give the individual of sense of being.

Where can i go to find out if they offer this program where im at?

Try these sites:

Puppies Behind Bars http://www.puppiesbehindbars.com/
Prison Pup http://www.neads.org/puppyprogram/prison.shtml
Southeastern Guide Dogs, Inc. http://guidedogs.org/700/750/750.htm
P.A.W.S. http://www.pawsshelter.org/celldog.html
4 Paws for Ability http://www.4pawsforability.org/news.htm

If your state's not among them, you can try Googling it up and see if there's a similar program in your state too. So far I've heard about the programs being implemented in prisons in California, Texas, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, New York and New Jersey, but there may be more states.

Thats so sweet, I bet that they really enjoy that, the puppies and the guys. They would have so much time to spend with eachother, it must be really hard letting them go

i wish my boyfriends prison had a program like this. it would be so nice for him just to have a dog around. i mean, have the responsiblity of a dog again. its just that they are there...and they really just fend for themselves. like he doesnt really feel the stress i have with money, work, and taking care of our dog. i think it would actually help him out a lot in transititioning. i hope more prisons throughout the country adopt this program.

at FPC Montgomery they have that program. When i went to go visit him i saw a couple of inmate walking behind the fence with the dogs they are really cute!