Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/reentry-center-help-dogs/

People and dogs are very similar to each other in one way. They all deserve a chance at a good life.

The problem with humans, however, is that they sometimes find themselves in situations where they do the wrong thing. They may even be punished for their crime, but that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve a chance to make up for it.

The Idaho Humane Society realized just how much these individuals could mean to the homeless pets they have at their shelter. They teamed up with a local reentry center, helping those former inmates to live a good life and to make a difference in the life of many animals.

One of the ways that this impacted the animals was it helped to relieve their stress. As you can imagine, being an animal and finding yourself inside a shelter can be a very stressful situation.

It isn’t just the fact that you are cooped up inside of the cage for a large portion of the day. You also have the loud sounds of barking and other noises that can distract you and even put stress on you. Even the smells at a shelter can be stressful.

Fortunately, the residents of the Idaho Humane Society were able to get a helping hand. They got it from the residents of the Treasure Valley reentry center, and the dogs and humans are helping each other.

They knew that the animals would be assisted by human interaction. Something else they knew and were happy to see was just how much this helped the residents at the reentry center.

Some of the residents spoke to a local news station to tell them just how much it meant to them. They spoke about walking the dogs and playing with the cats and cleaning them up when necessary. Essentially, just having a good time and giving them the needed TLC.

Before these people got started volunteering, they did train on a number of different types of animal behaviors. They took a lot of classes to learn about it, and it has really helped them to make an impact on the life of the animals.

Some of the former inmates said they were nervous about being around animals, but with the necessary training, they knew things were going to go the right way.

And it is going the right way and paying dividends. It has improved the mental health of the men that come down to help and they noticed positive changes in them. The animals also love getting personal attention.

You can see more in this video:

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Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog