ADAPT Inmate Dog Training Program: Adoptable Dogs After Prisoner Training (ADAPT)

The dogs featured on this web site were trained for eight weeks at a prison in Florida by state inmates, who were themselves trained by a professional dog trainer, in the hopes that they may find gainful employment in animal services when released from prison. The dogs were taught how to sit, stay, come and walk to the left and slightly behind their owner. They are housebroken and crate trained, have all their shots, and have been spayed or neutered.

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ADAPT stands for Adoptable Dogs After Prisoner Training.  ADAPT dogs are provided by the Humane Society of Northeast Florida (HSNEFL), Inc., a no-kill shelter in Putnam County, and are obedience trained by inmates from New River O-Unit.  They are screened for health and temperament, and if selected spend eight weeks in obedience training at the prison.  The inmates in the program receive not only the tangible benefits of learning certifiable skills in the handling, care, and training of the animals from a master dog trainer, Jay King, but also the intangible benefits of the unconditional love of a dog – something they would not normally experience in a correctional setting.  The dogs benefit not only from the training they receive, but also from the extensive daily interaction with humans (socialization) provided by the program – a direct contrast to shelter life.  Everyone wins, including potential adoptive families.  A dog that is crate trained, housebroken, obedience trained, well socialized and healthy ensures a more successful forever family relationship.

To adopt an ADAPT graduate, contact the Humane Society of Northeast Florida, Inc., at (386) 325-1587 or visit their website at www.hsnefl.org.