REAL COOL STORIES (week ended 1/11/20)

REAL COOL STORIES (week ended 1/11/20)

I’m back and hopefully for good!

Recently, I had the opportunity to watch the graduation of five assistance dogs from a program run by Tender Loving Canines. https://www.tenderlovingcanines.org/

The trainers are part of the POOCH program (Prisoners Overcoming Obstacles & Creating Hope).  This particular program is located in the Brig at Camp Pendleton Marine Base just north of San Diego, California.

About 20 prisoners are part of the program at Camp Pendleton.  They live and train the dogs on a 24-hour basis.  Twice a week, the prisoners, with their paired pups, meet with a handler to learn positive reinforcement training techniques that are used to train the dogs.  The trainers use clicker training which is a behavioral science-based reward system.  The dogs learn when they hear a click, they will earn a reward.  The dogs are trained for two years prior to being placed.

The dogs from this program are placed with military veterans with PTSD or military families with an autistic child.

A couple of the recipients of graduating dogs were present.  It was such a joy to see their faces.  In addition, a recent recipient noted how impactful his dog has been on his life.  He awakens each day with his new companion and looks forward to the day ahead.

This program is a true “win-win”.  The prisoners learn a lot about the dogs and themselves in the process.  The recipients receive joy and a companion that helps deal with their issues.  It was an honor to see the graduation ceremony.

A real, cool story to me!