Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/pawsitive-for-heroes-graduation/

Inmates from the Niagara County Correctional Facility in New York have been working hard to train service dogs for veterans.

It seems that all of their hard work has finally paid off because the dogs have officially graduated from training and are making their way to their new veteran owners.

The training is part of program called Pawsitive for Heroes that’s run by a small nonprofit that supports veterans. The Pawsitive for Heroes program was launched back in 2014 with a mission of providing service dog training to veterans in need at no cost.

While the nonprofit initially paid for the training with the help of sponsors and fundraising, they more recently came up with a creative way to train dogs at a much lower cost – with the help of inmates!

People incarcerated at the Niagara County Correctional Facility were carefully screened and selected to participate in the training program. Henry Stovall and Michael Kornaker were among those chosen and placed with a dog to train.

They spent so much time with their dogs, training them and living alongside them. Both were proud of their pup’s progress and excited to see them go on to their forever homes with their veterans, but it was an emotional moment for everyone.

The first graduating class of the correctional facility left the jail on March 15 and there were happy and sad tears shed as people welcomed the dogs into their lives, and others said goodbye. In a WKBW TV news clip, coth Michael and Henry said they would miss their dogs.

In the news clip, Desiray Morgan, one of the veterans receiving a dog from the program, said: “I’m so happy, I’m so excited. It’s just pure excitement.” She said she instantly bonded with her new dog and was exciting to go back to doing “normal” everyday things with the help of her new pal.

The program will continue, as more dogs will be placed in the jail to replace those who graduated. Check out the news clip below:

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Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog