Why is this Puppy in Prison?

How can a dog mend fractured lives? How can men shuttered away from society find hope from behind prison walls? How can a disabled child be given a new chance at independence?

Behind the razor-wire walls of the Otisville Correctional Facility, lies the answer.

A team of puppies is changing lives forever.

Petside.com traveled to the Otisville Correctional Facility in rural upstate New York to experience Puppies Behind Bars: a program in which prison inmates train service dogs for people with disabilities.

The puppies give hope and love

Concrete and barbed wire does not seem like a setting full of hope, but seeing a Puppies Behind Bars classroom will change your mind. We watched as puppies taught prisoners the healing power of unconditional love and selflessness.

Behind bars and metal detectors, live men who spend large stretches of their lives in prison. Through Puppies Behind Bars, these same men are now teaching dogs how to unchain other lives imprisoned by physical immobility.

Inmates, clad in green prison garb, train Golden Retriever and Labrador puppies to accomplish a series of tasks that will one day help another person reclaim a more fulfilling life.

The puppies teach hard work

For two years, a puppy behind bars will remain the constant companion of an inmate and teach him lessons that will help him re-connect with a better place inside of himself.

There is a lot of work involved with being a "puppy raiser". An inmate must commit to take care of his puppy 24/7. Many of the inmates freely admit that is was this lack of dedication and hard work on the outside that led to incarceration.

As inmate Edwin told us, "I didn't know anything about hard work and responsibility until [the puppy] taught me."

The puppies teach compassion

The responsibility is a serious and sacred one to the inmates, many of whom are serving sentences of ten years or more. What they get back from the puppy cannot be measured; a sense of purpose, unconditional love and a reason to get up in the morning.

By raising this puppy, they are able to make a difference to someone in the outside world. A disabled person's life will be improved because of their hard work and devotion.

Inmate Sergio told us, "The other guys told me that the only way to survive prison is to find a reason to live and someone to love...with this little guy, I got both."

How you can help

You can make a difference by sponsoring a puppy. Help give one of these service pups to a disabled child, veteran or adult. Visit the Puppies Behind Bars page to learn how, meet the puppies and go inside a training class behind prison walls.