This June, the Zignature team walked into the California State Prison in Lancaster, just north of Los Angeles, and watched something you don’t see every day: a graduation ceremony where every “diploma” had four paws and a wagging tail attached to it.
An afternoon spent meeting the graduating dogs, hearing directly from the trainers about what the program meant to them, and connecting with the staff, sponsors, and leaders who show up to keep this work going, year after year. It’s the kind of afternoon that stays with you.
Paws For Life pulls dogs from overcrowded shelters across California, dogs who might not otherwise have found their forever home, and pairs them with a team of trainers inside the prison. The trainers are selected from among incarcerated individuals who express an interest in the program and are prepared to take on the significant commitment of caring for and training a dog.
From there, it’s round-the-clock work: 12 months of behavioral training, patience, and structure, all building toward one goal. Many of these dogs are destined for a life as new service animals for veterans and first responders living with PTSD, people who need comfort, care, and a steady presence by their side. The program also offers a simplified course of behavioral training for dogs being adopted through Paws For Life’s shelter.
The Prison Training Program was initiated in 2014 by Paws For Life founder Alex Tonner, launching what’s recognized as California’s first dog rehabilitation program housed in a prison. Over the last twelve years the program has expanded by leaps and bounds, now operating training programs in three other California prisons, and other states have started looking to it as a model worth replicating.
The concept it’s built on is simple: mutual rehabilitation. The dogs get the consistency and one-on-one attention many of them have never had while the trainers get something just as hard to come by behind bars: purpose, connection and empathy.
Ask program director Jon Grobman, and he’ll tell you the impact runs both directions. Grobman went through the program himself as an incarcerated trainer before his release, and he’s watched, over and over, how quickly participants become attached to the work. Many say it’s the first time in years they’ve felt trusted, or needed, by anyone.
That trust adds up to something remarkable. Multiple participants serving long or life sentences have had those sentences commuted, more than any other prison program in California has produced. And amongst Paws For Life trainers who have been released and paroled, Grobman says recidivism has been effectively nonexistent.
Pets Global is proud to stand behind this mission. Every dog in the program’s care is fueled by Zignature dog food, powering them through months of demanding training as they prepare for a life of service outside the prison walls.
To every dog and trainer who crossed the stage, join us in giving a huge congratulations on their achievement. And many thanks to Paws For Life K9 Rescue for all the work done every single day, for the dogs, for the trainers, and for the veterans who will soon have a new companion by their side.
Interested in learning more about Paws For Life K9 Rescue or how to support their mission? Visit pawsforlifek9.org.
