Puppies Behind Bars (78 images)

The Puppies Behind Bars (PPB) Program works with inmates at prisons in New York, NJ and Connecticut to train service dogs to assist disabled people and provide bomb detection services. The puppies, labrador and golden retrievers or a mix, arrive at the prisons when they are eight weeks old and live and work mostly with one inmate for 20 months. The prisoners are responsible for their training, daily care, and well-being. The program's mission has a "core belief that incarcerated...
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The Puppies Behind Bars (PPB) Program works with inmates at prisons in New York, NJ and Connecticut to train service dogs to assist disabled people and provide bomb detection services. The puppies, labrador and golden retrievers or a mix, arrive at the prisons when they are eight weeks old and live and work mostly with one inmate for 20 months. The prisoners are responsible for their training, daily care, and well-being. The program's mission has a "core belief that incarcerated individuals can contribute to society, [and] that people can take responsibility for their own lives." These two simple tenets of the Puppies Behind Bars philosophy infuse every aspect of the program and are directly responsible for its tremendous success. The program is designed to provide a service to the community and have a positive effect on prisoners. The emotional element of caring for the puppies breaks down the hard façade that most prisoners create for themselves to survive prison life. Prisoners learn responsibility and pride in helping others. The program often gives them a new outlook on their crimes, their time in prison, and goals once they are released.
Since the program started, over 400 puppies have been trained. When Gloria Gilbert Stoga first presented the idea for the program, guide schools were adamantly opposed to the idea of entrusting convicted criminals, many of whom were imprisoned for murder, with puppies who would be trained to save lives. Stoga persevered and had 5 puppies raised by inmates at Bedford Correctional Facility, a maximum security women's prison. Once she proved that puppies could thrive under inmate care she expanded the program. Her program now provides puppies through the dog tags program to veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan suffering from both physical and psychological disabilities.
Fishkill Correctional Facility is a medium security men's prison in New York and has 22 men participating in the puppy program. Many are serving time for murder.
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