Tucked away near a small town just outside Asheville, NC is a correctional facility for women. The facility offers all types of vocational classes to encourage the growth and development of their inmates. A new dog training program is starting at the facility. You may have heard of this program – New Leash on Life. These programs have been successful throughout the country. The program involves prison inmates learning to train rescue dogs. At the Asheville facility, two lucky dogs are starting the program tomorrow.
New Leash on Life Asheville
We are so excited to introduce our young canine participants in the program: Anna White & Mocha. Charlie’s Angel’s Animal Rescue found these sweet females in the Henderson County Animal Shelter last week. We had the pleasure of meeting the rescued pups at the county shelter on Monday. The program officially starts tomorrow with their transport to the Swannanoa Correctional Center for Women. Lead dog trainer is Dr. K from Lucky Dog Training Asheville.
Rescue Pup #1 – Anna White
Anna White is the white, short-haired dog. She is 1.5 years old, medium-sized mix breed. She has the physical build of a swimmer and loves to chase balls. She is gentle with her mouth, including when taking food from human hands and she readily accepts petting. Her surrender notes indicate that she is not only friendly with humans and other animals (dogs, cats and hamsters), but also tolerant of rough children. Her owners moved from Charlotte to Hendersonville and Anna White found herself in a county shelter because she was over the weight limit of the new apartment pet restrictions.
Rescue Pup #2 – Mocha
Mocha is a smaller dog with slightly longer fur. She is a 7-month-old multi-colored mix breed who is extremely playful and highly energetic. She loves people and readily leans into your leg to encourage petting. She is very gentle with her mouth, even with food. She came with vet records, but no prior training. She is not used to being on a leash. The best way to describe her on leash is lots of pulling and bouncing. Anna White was a little better on leash, but still pulled like crazy.
Follow on Instagram
Please to follow Mocha & Anna White’s journey through the New Leash on Life program over the next three months. We created their very own Instagram Account:
@NewLeashOnLifeDogs
As the name indicates, it is only about the dogs. Photos with the inmates will never be published – ever! The dogs will be taking their first FUR-lough from the correctional facility in a few weeks to visit the sites of downtown Asheville. We will keep you posted on all their training and travels on Instagram. So please follow the Mocha & Anna White @NewLeashOnLifeDogs.
For the ❤ of Dogs!
Kathryn R. Gubista, PhD is an evolutionary biologist, college biology instructor, former zookeeper, author and certified professional dog trainer with Lucky Dog Training Asheville and has over 30 years of dog training and human teaching experience. The Dog’s Perspective is a training philosophy based on how dogs think, the title of the book series and our blog.