Ten dogs rescued from kill shelters are making a difference in the lives of inmates at a prison in Vacaville, California.
The Paws 4 Life K9 Rescue launched two programs at the California Medical Facility (CMF) prison on Wednesday that will help inmates care for senior dogs at the facility until the end of their lives and prepare younger pups for adoption.
“To be able to train the dog to be able to go home one day because it’s our dream to also reintegrate back into society. It’s a huge thing,” said inmate James Cross, who has been in prison for 16 years after being sentenced to 25 years to life for conspiracy to commit murder.
“Being a violent offender and being in blue, it comes with a major stigma. It comes with a lot of shame. And the dogs having unconditional love, they just love you for who you are at your core,” he commented.
On their Facebook page Wednesday, the rescue said it was “extremely grateful” to begin the programs at the facility.
The post read:
Today we implement TWO new programs in a brand new prison. The California Medical Facility in Vacaville, California (CMF) will be the first prison to host our new senior dog program called GRAND PAWS FOR LIFE along with our signature Canine Good Citizen training program that is currently running in both the Lancaster State Prison and Mule Creek State Prison. Today we arrive with 10 dogs, all from overcrowded open intake shelters. Five will be senior dogs from Grand-Paws Senior Sanctuary in Los Angeles (the most overlooked dog at the shelters). They will act as comfort companions to the men in hospice care at the prison.
“I’ve been a part of this program since the beginning. I’m formerly incarcerated. I had six life sentences consecutive to 40 years. I was sentenced to die in the California state prison system and this program changed my life,” said Paws 4 Life director Jon Grobman.
“They turned my entire sentence over and released me, and now I go back inside and try to give the men the same opportunity that I had and bring as many of the guys home as possible,” he concluded.
The rescue’s website stated one of its main goals was to make the lives of the elderly dogs “more peaceful and less lonely by bringing them into the prison setting to be socialized and cared for by senior inmates.”
When the dogs arrived on Wednesday, Chief Deputy Warden Daniel Cueva was overwhelmed by the positive atmosphere they brought with them.
“I’ve never seen so many smiles in this prison,” he said.
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