Imagine the love a dog that is on its “last days” at an animal shelter must feel when they are unconditionally loved by a human that at one time abused them. Imagine the love an incarcerated woman feels when she can help earn the trust of an abused dog.
This is one of the beautiful aspects of the Pups on Parole program. In partnership with the Heaven Can Wait Animal Society and the Jean and Southern Nevada Correctional Facility, dogs that are scheduled to be euthanized are rescued by Heaven Can Wait Animal Society volunteers and pair with women inmates giving them a second chance.
“Some of the pups that enter the program have typically lost their trust in people. At the prison they are given time to heal and re-gain their confidence in humans.”
Many of the dogs that arrive at the program have been treated very badly and have lost their trust in humans. They have been abused, neglected, and traumatized. The future for most of these dogs is dismal.
The volunteers from Heaven Can Wait Animal Society bring a select few dogs to the women’s correctional facility and each dog is assigned to a team of inmates. During the dogs’ rehabilitation time within the prison walls, they live alongside the women the whole time.
The women inmates, who work alongside Heaven Can Wait dog trainers, learn how to socialize the dogs and prepare them for adoption to their “forever” homes. They are given time to learn to trust again and regain their confidence that humans can love them.
During this time the dogs learn basic social as well as adaptive skills such as being house-broken, walking on a leash, and basic commands such as sit, stay, and come.
For the women inmate handlers, they too learn to trust and love and learn about responsibility for another life, and they also learn self-confidence within themselves for being able to take a broken untrusting dog and helping them bloom into loving pets. Over 600 dogs have “graduated” from the Pups on Parole program and many more are in school and will be graduating soon.
Kuranda dog beds work with the Pups on Parole program. The floor of the prison can be cold, and blankets are at a premium. If you would like to help a Pup on Parole receive a Kuranda bed while they go through rehabilitation, please call (702) 227-5555 to find out how you can give a dog a nice soft bed.
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Reviewed for legal accuracy by Elizabeth Franklin-Best, Esq., Principal Attorney·September 2026
