Prisoners in Volusia County train dogs to help veterans

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — Prisoners in Volusia County are training dogs to aid veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

The Prison Pup N Pals program pairs dogs with selected prisoners who have been taught to work with the dogs.

In Volusia County the Halifax Humane Society and the West Volusia Kennel Club are working with the Tomoka Correctional Institute to train the dogs to make them more adoptable.

In the program the dogs learn how to sit, stay, come, and walk to the left and slightly behind their owners.

Some of those dogs go on to an additional round of training so that they can be matched with a veteran as a companion dog through a program called Paws of Freedom.

After adopting a dog, those veterans also receive financial support, a care package and a year of health insurance to help them with their new dog.

WFTV