Incarcerated men get ‘second chance at life’ by training dogs for adoption

When Atlanta resident Ray Keith started training a mixed-breed puppy named Rio, the former stray didn’t even know the cue “sit.”But Keith, 25, used positive reinforcement techniques like treat rewards to teach Rio not just “sit” but loose-leash walking and skills like “stay,” “come,” “wait,” “down,” “watch me” and “crate.”

Thanks to that training, Rio got adopted into a loving forever home.

Ray Keith used positive training techniques to help a shelter dog named Rio get adopted.Ray Keith used positive training techniques to help a shelter dog named Rio get adopted.Blair Devereaux of Pheauxtography
“I was kind of sad to see him go, but I was proud,” Keith told TODAY. “I’d been working with him every day for 90 days, so that was my buddy. I’m happy for him.”

A carabiner is a quick and easy way to leash your dog.

Keith participates in Beyond the Bars, a new rehabilitative program from Canine CellMates. Since 2013, the nonprofit has invited inmates at Fulton County Jail to learn to train shelter dogs for adoption in a 10-week program. The dogs get 24/7 socialization and training from the men in a special dormitory for trainers, who can learn valuable life skills as well.Last year the nonprofit created the Beyond the Bars program: a sentencing alternative that keeps men out of jail. Instead of being incarcerated or proceeding further through the legal system, participants commit to training shelter dogs for a year at a new Canine CellMates facility, leased with a grant from the nonprofit Best Friends Animal Society.

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03:04Keith was one of seven men to graduate on Dec. 16, 2021, from phase one of the first class of Beyond the Bars. After a year of participating in Beyond the Bars, his criminal record will be wiped clean. In the meantime, Canine CellMates helped him find a job as a “bark ranger” at a dog park with a popular bar.

INTERESTING FACT ABOUT YOUR PET: Nearly 80 million U.S. households have a pet, and 42 percent of those households have more than one, according to a 2015-2016 survey by the APPA. There are 77.8 million pet dogs in the U.S. and 85.8 million pet cats.

“Coming from where I’m from, it helped me get a second chance at life,” he said. “The program is definitely giving me a second chance and also giving the dogs a second chance.”