Three dogs rescued from Guadalupe are now living behind bars at Lewis Prison — not as punishment, but as part of a program giving both animals and incarcerated people a second chance.
Janey, Max, and Bunny are the newest participants in Paws for Redemption, a program run by One Love Arizona that pairs shelter dogs with vetted inmates who train and care for them until the dogs are ready for adoption. The prison built out kennels, misters, and turf to support the program. Training classes for the inmates and puppies are held once a week.
The three dogs are among 18 rescued from Guadalupe earlier this year. Dana Klose, who works with One Love Arizona, saw them as ideal candidates for the program.
"We basically partner shelter dogs and incarcerated individuals," Klose said. "It changes the humans, and it changes the dogs."
The inmates who work with the dogs described the experience as transformative. Charles Morel said the dogs bring something to the yard that had been missing.
"To be perfectly honest with you, I thought I wouldn't see a dog until I got out," Morel said. "I mean, we wake up, we're not happy to be here. Other people aren't happy that we're here, but these guys are happy that we're here, and that just makes our day from there on good."
Morel said the skills inmates build through the program extend beyond the prison walls.
"We can go out, volunteer rescues, get a business, start our own business, uh, work for someone as a professional certified trainer," Morel said.
Program participant Ryan Islas said the dogs have reshaped his outlook entirely.
"These dogs, they give me love without anything in return. They don't expect anything in return," Islas said. "It'll bring things out of you that you never knew you had and I'm grateful for that because it's completely changed my life completely changed my life."
Derrik Hanstedt, who is scheduled to be released next year, said working with the dogs has given him a sense of direction he hadn't expected to find inside prison.
"It's almost like not even being in prison. It gives you purpose. It gives you something to look forward to. It's amazing," Hanstedt said.
Hanstedt described the progress the dogs have made since arriving.
"It's super rewarding in the sense that I'm actually making a difference in something that's living life in a positive way instead of a negative way," Hanstedt said. "There's still a chance. Nobody's hopeless. Just like dogs, they got a chance, and they're not hopeless."
Paws for Redemption is now in its fourth cycle of dogs trained inside Lewis Prison. Participants can earn training certifications they can use after their release. More information about One Love Arizona and the program is available at the organization's website.
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