3/14/2024 9:29:00 PM
Samantha Fischer - KARE11
FARIBAULT, Minn. — A pup-ular prison program found its way back to Faribault after an eight-year hiatus, bringing with it proven benefits for both the dogs in training and their inmate handlers.
Can Do Canines, a nonprofit organization that seeks to create partnerships between specially trained dogs and their humans living with disabilities, resumed operations at the Faribault Correctional Facility Thursday, bringing in two assistance dogs to be cared for and trained by a pair of selected inmates.
“We’re excited to be resuming this partnership with Faribault," said the director of training for Can Do Canines, Julianne Larsen, in a statement. "The exceptional care and training our dogs get in prison sets them up for the success they will bring to their clients.”
The organization said the two, 1-year-old black labs, Crombie and Penny, will be with their respective inmate handlers for 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and will attend weekly training with a Can Do Canines staff member and their foster handler.
According to the nonprofit, the dogs will learn basic assistance and obedience skills, as well as at least one type of specialized skill set to help clients living with disabilities involving mobility challenges; hearing loss or deafness; seizure disorders; diabetes complicated by hypoglycemia unawareness; or childhood autism. The org said some dogs are also stationed in hospitals or EMS stations.
Faribault was the first prison to host the program back in 2005 and now rejoins the roster with seven other facilities across Minnesota and Wisconsin, including correctional facilities in Duluth, Rochester, Sandstone, and Waseca, Minnesota, and Black River Falls, Chippewa Falls and Stanley, Wisconsin.
Can Do Canines said over the years, staff has heard a plethora of positive feedback from inmates involved with the program, who said the "experience has changed their lives," and helped them become more "responsible and compassionate," while giving them a clearer sense of purpose.
When the dogs are up to snuff, or sniff, rather, they'll return to the Twin Cities and be placed in a volunteer's home before beginning their final training periods at Can Do Canines' in New Hope.
