Inmates Raise Puppies for Blind

Since my experiences with learning nonviolent communication in the SF County Jail, I’ve become more sensitized to the jail and prison system and have been blogging about related topics, including violence against women, prison gardens, and racism.

This story just warms my heart! Leader Dogs for the Blind raises its puppies with the help of inmates. It’s a win-win for everyone: the inmates benefit from all that unconditional love and can use their time to train the dogs to benefit another person; the dogs benefit from training and companionship; and ultimately, blind people get to have these incredibly wonderful dogs as guides. In fact, the inmate-raised dogs sometimes perform better than those trained by civilians. And, inmates sometimes donate their own funds to help train the dogs! You can see the beautiful benefits of the program in this video. It will make your day!