In Episode 25 of On the Road with Mac and Molly, the focus is on the Pawsitive Partners Prison Program, which is operated under the umbrella of Monty’s Home. This North Carolina-based organization was inspired into being by the love and generous spirit of Monty, a dearly loved therapy dog and canine star who brought sunshine into the lives of many. After Monty succumbed to cancer, his human companion, Barb Raab, created an organization in his memory and today, through Monty’s Home, sunshine continues to be shed on dogs and human beings through efforts like the Pawsitive Partners Prison Program.

In this effort, volunteers select dogs from kill shelters to undergo training in preparation for adoption into permanent homes. After undergoing temperament evaluations, heartworm testing, spaying/neutering, microchipping and vaccinations, each new “class” of dogs moves into the Pender Correctional Institution in Burgaw where they are trained by specially-screened inmates over a period of nine weeks. Upon graduation, the dogs go home to their adoptive families.

Nearly 100 dogs have been successfully placed in loving homes and preliminary nationwide studies are suggesting that the recidivism rate of inmates participating in programs of this type is significantly reduced. Pawsitive Partners is credited with not only saving the lives of canines but saving the lives of humans as well.

I’m looking forward to being with the volunteers as they choose the next “class” of dogs. I also expect to observe some of the training and to be present for an upcoming graduation ceremony.

You can listen to my interview with Barb Raab on Pet Life Radio’s On the Road with Mac and Molly at http://www.petliferadio.com/ontheroad25.html.

Featured image: Stormy, Chilly, Misty, Thunder and Breezy taking a bow with their primary trainers, Timothy J., David S., Tony J., William B. and Derrick M. All photos provided by Monty’s Home.