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Frightened Puppy Finds Kindness in Prison, but That’s Just the Beginning
This female labrador puppy from a dog mill was completely broken and scared. But, she bonds with and grows to trust an unexpected person, a prison inmate.
The puppy’s prison-bound trainer gives her a second chance at life, one he hopes to receive himself one day.
Little Esther is so scared she can barely move, but is about to visit the prison and her new best friend, Jason, for the first time. (Screenshot/Youtube)
Thanks to the prison-trained K-9 Companion Program, Esther the puppy learns what it feels to be loved and gets ready to be adopted to her forever home.
The show is called Saving Castaways, and the series can be watched on YouTube.
5 weeks later, Esther is a new dog, happy and relaxed around Jason, and has learned to trust and follow instructions, making her ready to go to a family or into service. (Screenshot/YouTube)
The little brown lab is saved by a prison inmate from her debilitating fear of people. (Screenshot/YouTube)
Everybody knows that puppies and dogs are genuine unconditional lovers. That’s why we love them. Seeing how genuinely heartbroken the woman running the National Mill Dog Rescue in Colarado is about each dog’s hardship and rejection is very touching.
Tears well up in her eyes when she talks about the puppies’ slim hopes for adoption. (Screenshot/YouTube)
But even more moving is how the dogs and people in prison give redemption to each other.
It’s easy to see how this dog rescue program is saving the inmates too.
“Seeing what I’ve done for the dogs, changing them for the better, changes me,” said one inmate working in the K-9 program.
To care for another being, to be responsible and compassionate, lifts their spirits, and reminds them there is good they can do in society that is satisfying and rewarding. To put it in more clinical terms, it’s good social rehab.
“It feels good, it’s like I’m rebuilding a dog, and I’m rebuilding myself too,” said another inmate on the Castaways show.
If I was in that position, serving time in jail, caring for and being loved by a puppy would actually push me to dream of a better life, a life with my own puppy, some normalcy that would be worth striving for, worth turning my life around for.
“I believe that the K-9 program saved my life,” said one female ex-prisoner. The prisoners explain how they are at their rock bottom, they’ve come from horrible places, and they share that with the dogs. They heal each other.
The inmates gain so much from helping the dogs, it renews their humanity. (Screenshot/YouTube)
It even teaches the inmates dog training skills, which can lead to employment or volunteer work at a humane society or similar animal rescue shelter when their time is served.
If you liked the first video, you’ll love this one—it’s the trailer for Saving Castaways, and the stories revealed are fantastic. It’s such an incredibly positive program, and deserves a lot of attention in the prison institutions and for dog rescue centers.
Share this story to support the programs, which are in a trial stage. If they are proven as successful, they could be implemented across the U.S., where the system is being criticized for the high number of prisoners per capita.
www.visiontimes.com
Source: http://www.visiontimes.com/2015/04/22/frightened-puppy-finds-kindness-in-prison-but-thats-just-the-beginning.html
