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Is that Anita? Is that Anita?

Let's go see!

Come on.

He's like, "I'm home! I'm home!"

Who's that, Sammie?

Candido!

(MAN LAUGHS)

Beautiful!

Yes, you're beautiful!

MAN 1: Hi, Sammie!

Get over here, hey!

CANDIDO: The very first dog that I had, his name was Sam.

He was very afraid when he came and he wouldn't even come out

of his cage.

It took a lot of time, but it happened,

he's a different dog.

His tail is wagging, he prances around now,

he's happy.

I think, in a sense, he forgot his past.

He's a dog that has gone through so much and

has changed drastically.

And I know that by seeing that through Sam,

nothing's impossible.

Nothing is impossible.

I got sent on a cruelty call by a sister organization

because the cruelty call was in Simpson County.

So I got sent out there and as soon as I set foot on

the property, the man shot at me three times and

told me if I set foot on his property again,

the next time the bullet would be through me.

So, I just waited until late that evening and snuck out there.

Now, this is an abandoned property, and I haven't quite

been able to find out who the owner is, but I come and check

on this poor little dog here.

Look at him, he knows it's me.

You smelling at me?

You gonna let me pet you?

Good boy.

What?

Are you lonely?

Looking to see if there was more dogs out here.

It's obvious they've been feeding him, but,

throwing a bag of food out here once a week

and letting it be trashed ain't exactly taking care of your dog.

And he's a sweet dog.

He deserves to have a family that'll love him.

Where he doesn't have to just sit alone all the time in front of a house.

He's got food, water and shelter because he's got a food bowl,

a water bowl, and he's got that thing cut out with hay in it

for a shelter, so, there's no reason for me

to take him off of the property other than to keep checking

and making sure he's got food and water,

and try to get in touch with the owners to be able to get him.

And this is a small bag of food, I usually have about 20

of these in here, but I've been going through them a lot lately

because I'm seeing a lot more of these, where the people have

left the animals at the home, the home is abandoned,

the dogs have no companionship at all,

they're just being left.

Why would you leave a single, solitary dog

that's not going to hurt anybody on that property?

Not when you can take him home and have him right outside your door,

and actually pet him and love him.

It tells us in Genesis in the Bible that we're to be

the keepers of God's creatures, and if this is how we keep them,

it's no wonder we're at the end of days.

COLE: We're coming from West Tennessee,

we are in Harvard, Massachusetts,

about 1,200 miles one way to here from

where we started.

It's hard for people to understand the concept

of actually transporting dogs that have been rescued

to their new homes in a different part of the country.

A lot of the dogs we take on are strays.

As a lot of people know, stray dogs more than likely

end up euthanized.

It's just out of control.

You know, doing my part and saving as many dogs as I can.

The trailer is built for a race car,

but we've modified it and we've built shelves into it

and then on the shelves, we have the plastic carrier kennels.

We do what we can to keep the dogs comfortable during

their long journey.

Of course, every dog that I bring onto this trailer

is my responsibility throughout its journey here.

And even as a rescue group, any dog that we rescue,

we take responsibility for that dog throughout

the rest of that dog's life.

Close to five years I've been doing this.

We've estimated to have transported and re-homed

over 10,000 dogs.

JULIE: It's been a long journey, two-day trip from the south,

and even though they're not having a lot of activity

during that time, emotionally, it's a little bit stressful,

so they come here and we try to make

a calm environment as possible, playing country music.

We once, by mistake, put on some rap and they had some diarrhea.

So, no more rap, only country from now on.

My job is basically to do the micro-chipping, vaccines

and kind of direct the volunteers.

You'll find us in the kennels at the end of our shifts,

wearing our gloves and everything like that,

but really giving the dogs some extra TLC.

MICHELLE RICCIO: The general public, when you say, "Oh, I work with inmates,"

you either get the reaction of, "Why do you do that?"

Or, "Oh, that's nice,"

and they kind of just back off a little bit.

You always get the same thing too, it's like if you say,

"You know, I'm trying to raise money for a dog rescue."

They're like, "Why would you give money to a dog?

"There's kids with cancer, or there's, you know,

"kids with AIDS, why would you give your money to a dog?

"You know, people need help."

There are so many great charities out there

and there are so many worthy causes.

I think each person has to pick their own

that really speaks to them, and focus on that.

Otherwise, we're just spread way too thinly.

And I think this has allowed me to help humans and animals.

JOANNE WILKINSON: You hope maybe 25 years from now, there's not really

a need for us anymore, but I'm realistic

in terms of thinking this process of changing things will probably

take a longer time than that.

So, I think we probably will still be doing what we're doing,

we'll still be finding lots and lots of dogs good homes

in New England.

But for now, we're going to keep doing what we're doing.

MICHELLE: Animal rescues are limited by how many foster homes they have.

The more foster homes they have, the more animals they can save.

We have a prison system where we have approximately two million

inmates, with thousands at minimum-security facilities,

which can become foster homes, in a sense, and provide homes

for all those dogs that these animal rescues don't have space for.

By utilizing prisons, Don't Throw Us Away has solved

what is the main obstacle for many animal rescues.

Today is a very exciting day, this is the first time

the inmates get to meet the dogs, which means it's also the day

when the dogs pick the inmates, so, the dogs pick who they want

to work with for the next eight weeks.

It's really exciting to see who the dogs go to

and it's really nice to see how happy the inmates are to see the new dogs.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

Byram is this boy right here.

You nervous already?

It's okay.

(WOMAN SPEAKING)

(LAUGHTER)

I think he likes me!

(WOMAN CHUCKLES)

MICHELLE: So, I'll start with Sadie.

She's going to be our only girl this cycle.

She had four puppies, their names were Moe, Joe,

Bo and Zoe.

She was found at a garbage dump with those four babies,

so, she had a rough life.

She also had heart worm and mange.

I don't know how bad her mange was,

she could have been completely hairless,

she could have been partially hairless, but she's recovered greatly

and she's definitely going to need all the love and attention with you guys.

So, Cash, we think he's about nine to 10 months,

we know that he loves to play fetch and any other game

that centers around running and water.

His foster mom writes, "He's definitely not a couch potato."

Byram, right here, is about one or two, he's about 50 pounds.

He was found on a lady's property and wanted to be with her people and dogs,

he wouldn't leave.

So, that's how he got into rescue.

He's a smart dog.

Major is also about 50 pounds, he's supposed to be

a black lab-border collie mix.

He's supposed to be about nine or 10 months,

so he's going to be the youngest guy in the program.

Hey...

Does this smell better?

Okay, come on.

Come on, come here.

Come here.

You hungry?

Good girl.

They came from a pretty bad life, so, I mean,

it doesn't seem that hard to, um, find a connection, you know?

You get to love them, you know what I mean, love them,

they love you fast because they haven't been shown love in a while.

Especially this one was found in a dumpster and I don't know

who could throw you in a dumpster

with your puppies.

But...

You show them love and affection,

just like a person pretty much, you know?

Get to know them.

Are you a good girl?

You a good girl? (DOG YELPS)

What?

Get out, the door's open. Come on...

I don't know, she just came over and just didn't leave my side.

I'm glad she did though.

CANDIDO: It might sound corny, but, for me, love is like a ring,

it's never-ending, there's no bounds.

It doesn't stop.

When you love someone or something,

you'll do anything for them.

You're not even thinking of yourself, you're putting them

first, before yourself, and that's what I do

with these dogs too.

SCOTT: I just want to see the dogs you know, safe, and then

go back out, like me, go back into society

and do good, give people comfort

and companionship.

It is my last day here, yes, I'm going to a pre-release.

Go to pre-release and get a job and hopefully get on with my life

and not come back to prison.

That's my goal, my ultimate goal.

I've experienced a tough time, so that way I can appreciate the better ones.

You know what I mean?

If you haven't been through tough times then you really

can't appreciate the ones that are better now, you know?

When you make your bed, you sleep in it sometimes.

You know, that's just the way it is.

So, I'm just grateful for that. It could be a lot worse.

Could be in a much worse situation than I am now.

That's part of the reason that I came over to the minimum unit.

After ten years of being inside, they don't really...

They go from there to either the streets or to a lower security.

This way I get to see, you know, they're one step closer to going back out,

maybe I can help them.

You can't just shut somebody out just for one mistake, or even

two mistakes that they made.

And same with these guys, they didn't do anything.

You found them on the street or you found them eating out

of a dumpster, doesn't make them a bad guy.

Yeah. That's a good boy.

This training, experience some control in an environment

where there's no control, I think it's tremendously beneficial

to the prisoners.

They have this responsibility that I think is wonderful

because it's a privilege for them to have this unconditional love from the dog.

MARC: My experience with the prisoners is that

although they haven't had a lot of it, some don't trust it

or some don't understand it, it's what every human being wants.

They want to feel at peace, they want to feel safe,

they want to feel loved, cared for, desired, whatever,

you know, fill in the blank.

I think a dog would become a lifeline, sort of the oxygen

for these guys.

Wow.

(CHUCKLES)

Are you looking for more?

PAULETTE: Right now, it's all nerves.

This has been a very big day for them.

They've come here from the South and they've been in quarantine

and now they're here, so, it's a whole new environment.

Just be patient, be calm, be confident,

the dogs are going to get the confidence

they need from you and what you show them.

Remember, we want our dogs to do things because they want to do them for you,

not necessarily because they have to, okay?

That's the whole difference.

In strict obedience and having dogs that we have

for relationships and in our households.

Yes. Yes.

Perfect, perfect.

He's gonna be a quick learner.

Here's what I do, stop right here, she smells it,

all the way back...

Yes.

Okay, and that's when you want to give it to her, is when she stops.

She's stopping and looking right at you.

With her, you know, we'll just be really slow, Mmm-hmm.

Gentle, just like we were in the beginning.

You know what to do.

PHIL: He chews everything.

Like, he chewed shower shoes...

So, we don't let him out of the crate

unless he's with me at all times.

Yeah, I didn't have no patience when I came here,

but having these dogs, they're teaching us patience.

Just as much as we're teaching them their skills, they're teaching us.

PAULETTE: We're building on three things, bond, trust and respect

and that's the three-legged stool that I base all of my training skills on.

They'll leave here with having all the basic obedience commands

under their belts.

They'll be sitting, staying, down, recall.

They'll be doing some other things, such as leave it,

go to their beds.

We're going to work right through the thing,

so getting them into the home environment

after they're adopted, they're going to have a very well-trained dog.

This cycle, I think that we're really in the clear

with having no fearful, timid dogs.

I've got one dog that may have a little bit of a challenge,

but, again, this is day one.

But she seems to want to participate in the training.

We've had situations before where we actually had the dogs

just observe until they kind of warmed up to the situation.

All in all, after chatting with each handler,

they feel very confident in progressing with the training.

The handlers themselves, they've progressed tremendously,

their level of confidence, their ability to feel that

they can do this has just blossomed.

ROB: I actually would like to somehow work with animals when I do get out.

I mean, I'm a mason by trade, but I would like to do something

with animals, so I think the program is great,

I think what Michelle is doing is phenomenal,

saving animals' lives, and I've always loved dogs,

growing up, I have a couple.

You know, the world's such an uncertain place nowadays,

a lot of things happen, whether it's your fault or an accident,

second chances are very important.

I just want her to realize the bad part of her life is over now.

MARC: If you bring a dog into a prison,

the prisoners are going to need to know,

they're going to want to know and need to know the history of the dog.

When they find out it's been an abused animal,

I think it's going to cement the bond even more.

CANDIDO: Some of them are scared, tremendously, that they shake,

they shouldn't be treated like that.

Dogs should have rights just like we do.

They should be treated like human beings.

They have jails for people that commit crime against people,

they should have people be in jail

for crime against animals.

It turns my stomach because I just can't imagine that there

are people out there that are doing this.

The stories that you hear and the cruelty that the animals

go through, there is no need to ever have that for a dog.

It's just not a right life for any dog to live.

The minute we start thinking of other people

or other animals as being dispensable or disposable,

we suffer that indignity.

When we lose other animals, we lose parts of our self.

A lot of dogs that are in shelters have got there through

the school of hard knocks and it hasn't been a bed of roses for them,

they have been tied up or crated for hours on end,

abused or mistreated, sometimes physically punished.

They come with scars and lesions and they end up with,

many of them, mistrust.

This animal doesn't want to see fights, doesn't want to see antagonism among you,

it wants to see harmony,

because this dog needs love, peace and safety.

All of them need a friend.

PAULETTE: Can I see his spots? Yeah.

Can I see what's going on?

Let's take a look.

Is this a bad one?

Let me see.

Yeah.

Okay, okay.

Let me see, handsome.

Okay.

(INMATE SPEAKS)

PAULETTE: Yeah?

I know, I know.

It looks definitely like that.

I mean, I'm thinking it's not fence rips or any of that.

(INMATE SPEAKS)

PAULETTE: And we'll watch it, we'll see if the hair grows back.

If not, you know, I guess I've got a couple of things we can do.

CHASE: He's definitely been through some rough times in his nine, 10 months.

And my hope for him is that... I just hope he finds a

good family to show him love,

that's what he needs, that's what he deserves.

When you're in here, sometimes it's hard,

people forget about you, I'm sure that a lot of these dogs

feel the same way, that people forgot about them, you know?

I've just got to make them feel safe, get some trust

in there, you know?

I think that's the biggest issue with these dogs, is they have

a lot of trust issues, because they've been neglected

and abandoned and thrown away, and seen the worst.

That's probably the number-one thing, is to let the dog know

that we're not here to hurt them,

we're just here to help them.

And the sooner they find that out, the better they are.

Some of these dogs have been in the street, they've been abused,

they've been found in dumpsters, ditches, hurt, beat up, starved.

They have memory just like we do, they feel just like we do.

In some instances, like me and Sam,

I can relate to him because Sam was left behind. You know?

And I went through that as a kid myself.

So, I know, you know what I mean?

We all come from different backgrounds,

some of us have been through a lot ourselves. You know?

And I can, um, relate to a lot of the dogs.

Sometimes their bio is hard to even swallow...

Excuse me.

But yeah, it is, it's hard.

DAVID: They advertise themselves as a town "too beautiful to burn"

and that reference is to the Civil War.

Well, the Union troops, basically, as they moved north,

anything they found that was of any use to the Confederacy, they burned.

They didn't burn Port Gibson,

so they said because it was too beautiful to burn.

If we see a dog that needs help, I get 'em.

I pick up dogs that need help.

DAVID: People are just trying to stay alive and take care

of themselves, they can't take care of their animals.

I'd find the next three dogs, like Sadie and her puppies

that people had just dumped and I said,

"I cannot leave them there," so, I went into town

and I was talking to some of the people down there and everybody goes,

"It's so sad, I saw that dog down there with all those puppies

"and nobody's feeding them or doing anything."

So, I went home and I said, "That's it, I'm taking them."

So, I loaded them up and they all had mange, and poor Sadie,

every time a car would drive by the garbage dump,

she'd take off running after it like it was her owner,

so you can tell that she loved somebody at one time and they just dumped her.

And all these dogs, there's a sign right here that says,

"Caution, don't enter," there's toxic waste all back in here.

And that's where the dogs are getting a lot of their water,

and they're drinking it and that's where they're hiding out.

DAVID: You got to be careful when you go to pick a dog up.

Someone may take a little bit of umbrage about you taking a dog

that they think is theirs.

This being Mississippi, they could come out and take

a few shots at you.

We'll come back and get 'em, I'll try it again.

They all went down that ditch, running.

BETTY: I like dogs myself...

Because so much has been going on at night.

Them dogs, when they're around, they will let you know

when somebody's out beside your house or something.

These dogs you see running around here, they're strays.

Them dogs over there had some puppies, there was about three

or four puppies, pretty puppies, and I used to feed them,

I fed them too, but they've gone somewhere down the hill,

they'll be back.

They always come back.

There's a lot of dogs out here and a lot of cats out here that

people don't want, you know?

I thank God somebody's trying to help these,

because there is too many on the street,

sometimes, you see dogs just running

up and down the street, don't have nowhere to go, you know?

MARY: Hey, you, come here.

(WHISTLES)

Come here! (CALLING)

Come here.

David.

David, bring a leash, come on, hurry.

It's okay, come here.

DAVID: Well, they are very stressed.

MARY: Very stressed, a lot of anxiety feelings.

DAVID: Yeah, they're just like human beings, you know,

if someone you didn't know came up to you and grabbed you

and stuffed you in a cage, you know...

MARY: Being kidnapped, like kidnapping.

DAVID: You'd be pretty filled with anxiety too.

Especially if you'd never seen them before,

you've never been in a cage before.

MARY: Don't know if they're going to hurt you or not,

you don't know what to expect.

DAVID: And most of your interaction with human beings has been

barely tolerable and sometimes intolerable.

MARY: Oh, it's okay.

It's okay, calm, calm... (DOG WHINING)

Calm down, calm down.

DAVID: I guess there's some thought by city people that people out

in the country must love dogs, 'cause they come out

to the country and dump the dogs, it must be they think

they're better than turning them in to an animal shelter,

not realizing that dogs like those are probably not going to

be able to take care of themselves.

So, unless some sympathetic

farmer or somebody decides

to take them in, they're just going to starve to death.

MARY: Any one dog you save leaves room for another,

you know what I'm saying?

Just like those two we picked up today.

DAVID: The ones we do save, they make a difference,

we can make a difference for them.

We can make a difference in people's lives

when they adopt those dogs.

And, sometimes that's the best you can do,

you can't do everything.

There are probably nobler things in this life to do,

but we can do this and it makes us feel good.

And it helps more than just sitting around, shaking our head.

If dogs don't have a spirit that goes wherever we go,

if they don't have souls and if they don't go with us

into an afterlife, I'd just as soon not go either.

(DOG BARKING)

THOMAS: They know who the nice guys are and who the bad guys are.

They know. It's not all about a treat, they know.

It's tough, man,

some of these dogs have been through a lot.

They've been brought to the right place.

Yeah, we take good care of these dogs.

Real good care of these dogs.

Just 'cause I don't think she feels good.

So, once she gets feeling a little bit better,

I'll have to break her a little bit out of this habit.

She likes to cuddle.

Hmm.

It's funny, I'll come back from upstairs or something,

she'll be on her bed, her head will be on the pillow,

she'll look at me out of the corner of her eyes,

I can't yell at her.

Head on a pillow and everything.

ROB: Clocks move real slow in prison.

Spending time with her is great, because, I mean,

it helps her out, it helps me out, it's a two-way street.

Hi, come here.

And she's spoiled.

And jealous, she doesn't like any of the other dogs

coming over to me and petting me, or me petting them,

she comes right over in between us.

For those people that don't get visits and stuff like that,

and you get a dog, I mean, there's your companion right there.

Your dog will listen if anybody else don't listen.

I love every animal in the world.

Cats, dogs, giraffes, anything.

I have this connection with these dogs,

every dog that I've had, I've had a connection with it,

in such a way that I'm telling him or her stuff about myself

and it's like they're a psychiatrist, somewhat, you know?

It's funny.

They'll look at me and be like, "Aw, you poor guy."

MARC: When you're in prison, you got to put this wall up,

nobody can talk to you, nobody can mess with you.

Bringing a dog into prison does change the mood,

it's like a taste of freedom.

It changes a person's attitude, it really does.

Having a live being with whom they share emotions, I think,

would just cut through the barriers because they would have to.

It was like we became somewhat of a family because we started

focusing on the dogs and we all came to a common ground.

Where there was a wall, it got broken.

They do have a mask on,

because they're afraid to let their guard down.

But when they're involved in this

and they're talking to a dog,

there's no more mask,

that's the real person, that's how they are.

MAN: You could have two different gang members in the same place

and if you bring a dog to the facility,

believe me when I tell you, it will work.

ANITA: There is a lot of rivalry in jail

and there is a lot of gangs

and that's well-known to everybody on the outside,

and when you see people coming together that would

never come together, it is amazing.

MAN: I knew of two gang members that were in this specific program.

They were two different colors, they were repping,

and they stopped, and they started talking to each other,

and they became friends.

It might be rough at first, but it can work.

You just have to give it a chance.

I'll take the deluxe.

WOMAN: The deluxe? Yep.

Come here, Max.

Come on, buddy. Come on.

Up, up, up, come on.

Good boy. Okay, okay, good boy. There we go.

Good boy.

Good job.

(ALL LAUGH)

CHASE: Come on.

Good boy, come on, over here.

When you don't have them around all the time,

family is probably the number-one thing,

people who have supported me through this down part of my life.

I love dogs.

Just the fact that you can have a bad day, you could be around

a dog and the dog can just, you know, brighten your day.

They make you smile, when you think you're at your worst,

the dog can bring a smile out of you, you know?

There's been a lot of work showing that when you pet a dog,

your heart rate goes down and their blood pressure goes down.

You will have, say, fewer doctor visits,

you are generally healthy, you will live longer.

There's a number of psychological benefits,

which all seem to run along the common theme of being

less anxious, more happy as a person, more fulfilled.

ANITA: Dogs lower my blood pressure.

I have almost 1,000 inmates in there and some days,

it gets very difficult, and I'll come down and say,

"Can you send the dogs down?"

And I'll pat all the dogs.

They all laugh when I come down and they'll say,

"You're coming down to lower your blood pressure."

Regardless of the physiological basis,

it is for softening people.

And, this is what I've seen in my prisoners. It makes them feel

less of a wuss. I've had people... There's a lot of

macho testosterone floating around in jails.

I had this one guy come up to me, he comes up to me

every time and shows me pictures of his Australian Shepherd.

He's funny, he said that, you know, "It'd be nice to get out

"and see my family, but, I really want to see my dog.

"Don't tell my wife."

(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)

Yeah, here's your blankey.

Cover up or you'll catch a cold.

Our emotions are shared, like, emotions are like a social glue,

and so, that's what attracts us to dogs and

other animals, is the shared emotions, we see the joy,

we see the happiness, we see the sadness and the grief, and,

you know, other emotions.

The minute that I saw her, I knew she was scared and timid.

In her eyes, you know, you could tell in her eyes

that there's definitely some kind of long story in her eyes,

that she hasn't had a great life, and I saw her and I wanted...

Hopefully, I can make her life better, make her happier.

And we clicked right away when she came out, so...

Sadie still hasn't got to where she will go to anyone,

she's still really attached to me.

You know, if I'm having a bad day, she'll come over and keep nudging me.

You know, I mean, she's just... We have a phenomenal connection.

You'll see an inmate bending down, just talking to a dog,

or sitting on the ground with a dog, or carrying the dog if the dog is sick.

Before that, you'd look at them and say, "You know, I really

"don't know about this guy," you know, and then all of a sudden

you see the true inmate coming out.

I'm actually a recovering drug addict.

I had a back surgery, I got hooked on pain medication.

And it's weird, I'm in prison, I don't really have much freedom

as far as where I can go, or anything like that, but,

sanity-wise and mind-wise, this is like the freest I've ever been in my life.

Even everyone in my family, all of my friends,

everything they say, "You know, without drugs,

"you're an awesome, great, productive member of society.

"You know what I mean? You have a huge heart,

"you're loving, caring, understanding, great father."

You know, I mean, as long as the drugs aren't in me, I mean,

I'm good, you know?

And now that I've been in prison,

I've been away from that long enough,

and this is the longest amount of time

I've ever been clean since my back surgery.

I have a totally different outlook on life, and, I mean,

going back to drugs is not an option for me, period.

It's not an option.

If you surround yourself around positive people,

you're going to do positive things and the right things.

If you surround yourself with the same crowd

you were around with last time, you're liable to repeat

and you just come back and then do the same thing, same cycle.

It's my first time and last time, you show me this once.

You know?

You show me this once, I'm all set.

One bad mistake and you end up here.

Doesn't matter if you had a record or not.

Who really wants to come back to prison, you know what I mean?

It's just for the birds.

Excuse the phrase, but it is.

It's not for me.

The inmates are screened out there

before they go into the program,

so, ones that aren't picked aren't picked for a reason.

So, we do look at the anger issues,

if they have a lot of anger issues.

I would not allow anybody to be in the program

that has any violence at all in their background,

especially with any type of animal abuse.

Basically, we're looking at the perfect inmate.

Even though they've committed a crime, there are some very

decent inmates out there.

I think we know, we've been here so long with the inmates that

you can tell which ones are going to turn around, and say,

"Let's try it with him."

And they do change, they change their attitude... They have to.

They're very kind with the animals.

We screen them carefully, there's no magic formula,

but I have been very, very lucky, I seem to have

a fairly good sense of these people,

and hopefully, I can continue that.

But, if a mistake is made, they're removed from the program,

end of story.

The recidivism rate is not something that we are proud of,

because people do come back to jail.

But, everybody should be

given a second chance in anything that they do, I mean,

you all, we all do say, "Oh, if I could just do that over,"

you know, "If I could do it again."

I've been in corrections for 21 years and we used to walk

an inmate to the door and just say, "See you later."

And we don't do that anymore.

We keep them busy.

Hopefully, they won't come back to jail and hopefully this dog program

has given them an insight on what it's like to

really even be a dad, or even be an uncle,

or be part of your family again.

Dogs can often provide a model for being in the moment.

They show such resiliency and we see these dogs who have come

from really negative backgrounds and they can be rehabilitated

and that's an example for people of letting go of your past

and that you do have the capacity for change

and for improvement.

If the dogs can do it, then they can do it.

CANDIDO: I'm trying to take myself out of that category,

as a street person, because I'm not a street person no more.

The turning point for me was when I first got to

Norfolk State Prison, because there was a gentleman that was there

that used to give me advice, and one of the advices

that he gave me was, "If you could take

"the ability and the concentration to do something wrong,

"then if you flip it and you do it in something positive,

"you can be unstoppable."

I'm taking that theory and I'm putting it into practice.

I definitely am an underdog going back out into society,

you know, I mean, people look at you differently,

tend to shy away from you, or when you go for a job, and,

you know, you have to put that you were in prison.

I'm married, fortunately, but, I mean, like,

even meeting girls and stuff, like, "Oh, my God,

"he was in prison, stay away."

You know what I mean? You have a label.

In life, there's a lot of challenges,

there's always going to be challenges.

I've been in prison.

Society might not see us, or see me, as a person

that would change, and I'm ready to prove them wrong.

Okay? Awesome.

THOMAS: I'm going to Boston State Pre-Release, should be about

another week, two weeks.

Another stepping stone towards getting out.

Basically, they give you the opportunity to look for a job

out in the streets, and commute and reintegrate, basically,

back into society.

I'm prepared for doors to be slammed in my face because

I know the thing about felons and hiring ex-cons

and stuff like that, but, I'm prepared.

I should be all right.

The culinary arts, barber, I'm good at fixing computers

and stuff like that, so... I learned a lot in here.

Better than sitting around doing time,

I actually did something with my time.

I came here when I was 19, I'll be 33 Tuesday, so,

I missed a lot.

Mainly for not my sake, but for my kids' sake,

you know what I mean?

Because my kids are teenagers now, so, I missed a real hefty

amount of time out of their lives.

So...

Just ready to be a father.

It's all about the kids this time.

I don't know if it's a second chance or if it's another shot,

but, I'll take it.

I'll take it and do the right thing with it.

ROB: Come on.

Come on, it's time to go to bed.

Come on, come on.

I know, I know, come on.

Come on...

(CLICKS TONGUE)

Come on... I know, I know.

My daughter and mom came up a couple weeks ago, they love her.

My daughter wanted to take her home.

It's good once they find a good home.

It's bittersweet because you don't want to see them leave,

but when they leave, that's why it's good to get the updates,

because you know they're being taken care of

and they're all right.

PHIL: He's doing good! He's got a lot of energy.

But, as you can see, he's a love bug.

As long as he's relaxed...

I could let him down here, running around and all that,

but that's just feeding into him.

But, up here, you can see how relaxed, he just wants

to be affectionate, that's all.

You see, just the first day he got here, how hyper he was,

you know, he's calmed down more than what he was.

I'm not saying he's fully calmed down, but,

he's definitely a little better.

Oh, yeah, he's only a baby, so...

He's a big baby. Hey, don't fall off.

Basically, with him, the "stay" and the walking.

Although, he's doing a lot better with the walking than what he was doing.

But he's so hyper, he doesn't like to sit still.

He has to, so, we'll get him. That's going to be the hardest thing with him.

Do you think she could have a hormonal possible problem?

She really doesn't like to do much, at all.

MICHELLE: She could just be depressed too,

I mean, she was with her foster mom

for a long time, while she recovered from her heart worm.

So, I think she's just missing her foster mom,

it's a big adjustment for her. Right.

If she doesn't feel well, it doesn't help either,

you know, like here, she's all irritated and...

Yeah, 'cause, I mean, this, her stomach looks terrible.

Yeah.

You're a good couch. (CHUCKLES)

I know...

You know what I mean, you guys told me to just do it

with a cotton ball, so...

Yup.

I know, honey. It's okay. That's a good girl.

ROB: We're going to try a different food this week,

'cause she's losing her hair, so...

They think that, I mean, that could be one of the reasons

why she doesn't feel that good.

So, like, a lot of chicken, turkey, real food.

She's going to be eating better than me.

Grab her chicken that I cooked yesterday, and she gets

six ounces of chicken.

A scoop and a half of healthy dog food.

Ten drops of this skin-detox solution, this is for her mange.

And this is for her health and skin,

this is essential fatty acids.

Mix this up like an oatmeal.

Cover it for about five minutes.

And then I add the chicken to it.

I don't think she does the "down" yet because her belly is irritated.

And I think the grass might hurt it.

See how it's all...

She's losing her hair and it's irritated.

Oh, that's going to change hopefully this week, huh?

Good girl.

Cash, since he's been here, we're going on a fourth week. He's...

When he first got here, he was a little, you know,

out of control, a little out of line,

he's actually come a long way.

The more he's been here, you know, the more we get to

see his true personality.

And he's actually a pretty calm dog and, you know, a submissive dog.

He's a little afraid of certain people, a little afraid of

things that might trigger past adventures.

But, overall, yeah, he's doing quite well.

Sit.

Down.

Good boy.

You just got to let them know that it's okay, I mean,

they get a lot of petting, a lot of affection.

That's what he really needed when he got here,

was a lot of affection and to know that I'm not going to hurt him.

You know, and it took a couple of weeks for him to realize that.

It's all consistency.

Just all being very consistent with him.

There's certain lines you got to get across,

or break certain rules for these dogs, just because, I mean,

you want them to like you.

So, whether that's sneaking them some people food,

or letting them jump on the bed for 15, 20 minutes

when they're not supposed to, things like that.

You know, that type of stuff really builds a bond with a dog.

You can measure increases in oxytocin, which is the hormone

of love in people, as they experience the affection

from their dogs, actually being measured.

This is the hormone that bonds a mother with a baby,

the one that's responsible for romantic love between people,

and it's also released and fortified this bond between the person and the pet.

Stay.

Tell her to go down. Down.

Stay.

Come.

Come here, buddy, come here.

There's a good boy!

PAULETTE: Nice.

Nice, nice.

Excellent.

Okay, good job.

CANDIDO: Come.

You know what I want you to do?

I want you to stop and I want you to make him "sit" and "down."

I want about 10 of them in a row.

Doggy push-ups.

Okay?

So, when he gets to be a little obstinate and challenging,

we're going to focus, get his focus back on you.

I don't care if you have to go by the tree,

you want him to "sit" and "down."

CANDIDO: All right. PAULETTE: "Sit" and "down."

CANDIDO: He makes me happy, you know?

When you're in prison, you're not really seeing happiness,

you know what I mean? You're surrounded by guys.

Behind the wall, there's no streets, there's no cars,

there's no laughter.

I mean, there might be, but, not enough.

Prison is nothing but just...

I call it "the walking dead," because you're alive,

you're walking, but, there's nothing there for you.

It's not life, and this dog brings out the best in me.

It lets me know that I'm taking care of someone else,

because he has a life as well.

And he'll know what love is because of the fact that

he's getting it from now.

This is the foundation.

Can't build a house without a good foundation, and this is it.

WOMAN: Forever Home Rescue New England is holding

our prison dog adoption event today.

And this has been a long time coming.

The dogs have gone through most of their training,

some are spoken for at this point,

but the adopters want to meet them now.

They've never met these dogs, they've seen them online,

seen them on our website, looked at their descriptions,

they think they love these dogs, now they just have

to confirm that in person.

We're going to have a lot of nervous people coming in today,

and super-excited because they're meeting the dog

they're going to have for the next 15-plus years.

Everyone will come in today, chaos may ensue,

but it's a lot of fun, and meet their dog,

take them around, walk them, get to know their personalities,

and hopefully, they'll all be good fits.

Not every dog that ends up in a shelter can be saved,

but a good percentage of them can.

The goal, of course, is that when they are adopted,

they stay adopted.

Because the big problem is the boomerang, they come back in.

And I think this prison experience,

because the prisoners have so much time, there's a much better chance,

'cause a well-trained dog is much more likely to

stay in the home than to boomerang back.

RYAN: Yeah, we adopted a dog from a shelter before.

Didn't know much about him, had to teach him basic commands.

It took years really, but having a dog with

this foundation, I think it's great.

I think it's amazing, considering it's been six weeks from being

a stray to where he is now.

I mean, you can just see I'm barely...

I'm not exactly hanging onto the leash here and he's just...

There's other dogs around, he's great with the other dogs.

He doesn't seem bothered by that, he doesn't seem bothered

by different people.

He can sit and he can stay and lie down and everything, which is great.

I think I need more training than he does now.

It's probably going to be the other thing.

We just finished the open house, so, now they have to go back to prison,

all the adopted dogs.

The dogs that haven't been adopted

stay for the weekend,

so they're around for Monday's open house.

So, Sadie and Bo will be staying, but all the other dogs

have been adopted, so...

Pretty good, four out of six, it's pretty good.

People can't just come to the prison to meet the dog,

we have to bring them here, or to another location.

So, it's been very successful, I think.

In the beginning, I was very careful about only buying

what I would consider to be a masculine-colored food bag,

because I didn't want them to be upset, but now I just think

it's funny you can buy the pink ones.

So, I'm just getting my car ready to do transport.

Normally, we use crates for all the dogs, but because my car

is so small, I have to transport three dogs today,

there's really no room for crates, so, got all my blankets out,

and yeah, I'm ready for the flurry of fur.

Okay. All right.

One more. I'll hop in the front.

Okay, I'm going to go get the...

(MICHELLE CHUCKLES)

So, I put the windows up and turn the AC on for them.

He's ready!

Come on, co-pilot, let's go!

Come on!

Good boy!

Oh, my goodness!

Good boy! Thanks, Julie!

This is how we're going to drive all the way back to prison.

Are you going to help me drive?

Thank you.

All right, ready to go!

CANDIDO: You're going out good.

He's wrapping up his bid.

He's going home.

He's going home.

And you know to go home, you got to look good.

I always do get sad, but I'm also happy for him too,

you know, it's bittersweet.

It's a beautiful thing.

From where they came from to where they're going.

You know, this is just mediocre.

It's like wearing a tux to a nice gathering, you know?

He's not liking me right now, but it's all right.

I know.

It's okay.

You look good!

Yes, you do!

I've seen parole on Wednesday, this past week,

November 2nd, and they...

They gave it to me.

That I go to a pre-release for at least six months.

My lifestyle got me here and I want to change it, you know?

So I never come back again.

I had anxiety, but, I will say this,

Byram kept me out of it, you know?

You could have all the stress in the world,

all the problems in the world,

but once you come through those doors and you're with your dog,

you know, you're not really focused on any other problems anymore.

My father was happy, too, they came yesterday, actually, on Saturday.

And we talked.

I didn't quite know how they were gonna take it.

I thought they would be like, "Oh, congratulations,"

but my mother was...

She was so happy.

She was screaming in the phone.

"You finally got it, you're out of there, okay, good."

It's on to bigger and better things.

Right?

Like you.

You're going to better things.

Right?

WOMAN: So, these dogs are ready for you to see them test.

It's a 12-step test and we're going to watch each inmate handler

do the test with his dog and we're going to have a copy,

you guys can follow along in the test.

And then after the test, we're going to have a little training session,

inmates are going to show you the commands and you can practice.

And then you can ask inmates any questions you want,

and then you can take your doggies home.

Better.

Good!

Come on, buddy, let's go.

Much better. That was much better. Good boy.

What's his name? Byram.

Can I say hello to him? Yes, you may.

Great. Oh, he's very comfortable, huh?

He's a very comfortable boy.

Oh, that's quite the greeting.

Okay, he did great.

Very nice.

Very good patience on your part.

Come on.

Very nice, I really like that level of patience, Phil.

Go ahead.

Okay, good.

Great job, Phil.

Good boy.

Wait for him, now call him.

Come on, puppy!

Puppy, puppy, puppy.

Puppy! Very nice.

Very nice job. Thank you very much.

Good seeing you again. You, too.

Thank you. Great job.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

Great job.

When is she leaving?

(WOMAN SPEAKS) Yeah.

I was just making sure it wasn't tonight or anything.

Come on!

Come on, pretty girl.

Oh, you're such a good girl.

I just found out that Sadie's going to be adopted.

She'll probably leave next week, I guess.

Mixed emotions, it's great that she got adopted and I know that

she's going to a great home.

And she'll be happy there.

And, you know, sad because I'm very attached to her,

don't really want her to leave, but...

He's really nice, he's a cuddle bug.

Is he? Yeah, he loves the affection.

PHIL: He calmed down a lot.

Where he was when he first got here, you know,

he was off the walls the first night he got here.

Both...

Good boy!

It's good that he's got a good home now, you know,

now he can finish his life.

He's only a year old, so, he's got his whole life ahead of him, you know?

The boy is young, he's only five years old,

Major's only a year, so when you think about it,

they're going to spend their whole life together,

you know what I mean? It's pretty cool.

I'm very happy that he went to that family.

But...

I miss him.

Got a long night.

Dog.

CHASE: At first, it was important to gain his trust, I was trying to

go over and above to get his trust, so it was more

playing with him and trying to see him open up to me.

And eventually when he did, it became a great...

Our bond just was, it was unbelievable, it was great.

I mean, to be in a situation to have a dog at the end of your bed,

in a crate, I mean, what better way of doing time

can you ask for, you know?

I mean, things could be a lot worse.

I think he's going to have a great life.

I think once his trust, once he opens up and starts

trusting his new owners, he's going to have a great life.

He'll have a great life.

SGT. REGAN: Not everybody likes to be pushed and between Paulette and myself,

I think we push these guys and they accept it

and they understand it and they do it, and that's very important.

They're under scrutiny and under guard all the time,

and to have that extra pressure, that really shows that

they are willing and they're trying to change,

and I think that's important.

The mission of the program was to save the dogs as well as the people,

and watching these guys become more open to

emotion and more patient, I think we've absolutely

done the right thing with this.

These people come from some pretty bad backgrounds,

they relate with the dogs, they learn compassion.

Even if they're only here for the eight weeks,

they don't leave the same way.

MAN: There's a famous quote from Anatole France that says,

"Until one has had a relationship with an animal,

"part of one's soul remains unawakened."

ROB: We're saving animals.

You know, the dogs, the day that the program gets them,

they're pretty much... That's going to be the last of their life

if they don't get saved, so, when they take them,

you know, and then we work with them, it's great.

ANITA: That's all it is.

It's just unconditional love.

And the inmates need that, and the dogs need that, so,

it's unconditional love.

He trusted me.

I used to tell that dog everything.

If I had a problem, talk to him, he'd look at me and be like,

"It's okay," you know?

Give me that look, "It's all right."

And I would give it to him too, you know, whenever he felt

a little scared or whatever, I would give him that.

You know, that extra confidence.

That's what it's about, you know?

We feed off each other.

You gotta love yourself first before you can love anybody else.

I think that's part of life, you know?

WOMAN: Looks like you're at home.

CANDIDO: The way I see it, it doesn't matter your history,

it doesn't matter your ability,

it doesn't matter your environment.

The quality of your mind is what determines your future.

And that is what makes me believe that

I can actually succeed, just like Byram has, you know?

Where he's going, I'm definitely going on that same road.

Come on, boy, let's go.

I'm getting another dog, at least three of them.

Three or four, that's a definite.

I'm coming home to a family of dogs,

but I'm going to come to a family, you know?

It's going to happen.