Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe YPSILANTI, Mich., Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Officials at a Michigan women's prison said 20 prisoners spent 10 weeks training dogs from the local Humane Society. The Huron Valley Correctional Facility in Ypsilanti and the Humane Society of Huron Valley said the dogs are the first to graduate from the Michigan Inmates Providing Assistance Work & Service program, the Detroit Free Press reported Monday. Advertisement Helen DePinto, director of behavior programs for the Humane Society, said the dogs emerged from the program as certified Canine Good Citizens. "These were dogs that were kenneling well, but needed some help to get them ready to go into homes," DePinto said. James Ward, a Catholic deacon and prison chaplain, said the program also benefits the prisoners who train the dogs. "It seems that a lot of the trainers are lifers and they don't have a lot to look forward to," he said. "This gives them something positive to do. It's really throwing them a lifeline."
