Department of Juvenile Justice Program

Adjudicated teens under the care of the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) take one of our dogs into their residential home to train. There the dog lives with all those in the home but is trained by a training team, selected by the staff.

The training team, assisted by our professional dog trainer, is responsible for the dog’s training schedule and care. While being trained the dog interacts with staff and more than 20 teens daily.

Those selected to participate as trainers earn this right through good behavior.

This program is continues to grow after the successful piloting of the program. A few of the successes from the pilot program included:

  • No behavior issues from all participating students for the 6 months of caring and training their first dog.
  • The first student trainer received job skills that landed her a job offer at a local animal clinic.
  • And the first dog to graduate, Rex, went on to be placed with special forces veteran suffering from PTSD.

These early successes continue as the program grows to serve even more.

Dogs