The four men stood beaming like proud fathers as their Labrador retrievers playfully romped with one another on a grassy field under a sunny sky earlier this month.

Up close it looked like any group of dog owners enjoying a beautiful day at the park. The tall chain-link fences and foreboding razor wire in the background, combined with the men's matching clothes, told a different story.

The men are four of the 720 inmates at medium-security Enfield Correctional Institution in Connecticut, located about 25 miles northeast of Hartford, where they work with the nonprofit organization America's VetDogs to train service animals that will help wounded military veterans and others suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

The dogs aren't the only ones learning from the experience, either.


..............The rate of recidivism for the average inmate at Enfield is 85 percent, according to Timbro. For those involved in the AVD program, it's less than 25 percent.

more at: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/good-news/how-these-prison-dogs-and-inmates-are-changing-veterans-lives/ar-BByHvuC

that is so kewl, I sometimes wish we could tap into our pets more loyal and loving instincts,,,,