QUINCY, FL (WTXL) -- Across the country, dogs are specially trained to be companions for people with disabilities.
About 20 are trained by a group of female inmates at Gadsden Correctional Facility (GCF).
"I thought if I had dogs around -- because I raised dogs at home -- that it would make my time easier," said Patricia Banks, who trains Riordan.
It's part of a program called Canine Companions for Independence, training dogs to help people with disabilities. Since 2005, GCF has trained 153 dogs.
"Their lives here are very scheduled and regimented, and that makes for really good service dog training," said puppy program manager Linda Kwitchoff.
"They're committed to training them," said Martha Johnson with Canine Companions for Independence. "It's a win-win for the inmates here who feel that they can give back."
"It lifted my spirits. It's made me believe in second chances," said Crista Decker, who trains Nikolai. "It's made me believe that I can better myself."
"It gives us the opportunity to be able to almost redeem ourselves from what we've done," said Jacqueline Lee, who trains Pax.
None of the inmates in the puppy training program who completed their sentences have gone back to GCF.
"I said, 'Well, I love my dogs at home. Maybe the dogs will help me wake up every day, and it really has worked," Banks said. "It's kept me going."
The prison has a 70 percent success rate in training the dogs, who then get professional training before going to an owner.
"They always take a piece of your heart, but you know that, at the end of the day, they're going to make someone else's life better," Lee said.
After the dogs leave the inmates, they're paired with a "puppy finisher" home for the next six months before going on to professional training.
To learn more about applying for a dog to train or to own, contact Canine Companions for Independence online.
