Unleashing hope: Burke County inmates train shelter dogs, receive new outlook on life

MORGANTON, N.C. ( QUEEN CITY NEWS ) – A lush green landscape in Burke County is the site of Foothills Correctional Institution. Here, rehabilitation is often years in the making.

“Good morning everyone. How are you!” says Tonya Woodby, greeting a crowd on a momentous day. “I appreciate everyone coming out to their graduation!”

The graduates, dogs Liam and Kessler, are a little hard-headed. But they’ve got a soft spot for their trainers.

“Run, go, good boy!” said Donald Dietz, leading Kessler through an obstacle course.

“C’mon, roll over…. Alright!” Robert Walker says, working with Liam, a Pitbull.

Both are offender trainers for the New Leash on Life program , which is coordinated in state prisons across the nation.

Foothills Correctional partners with the Humane Society of Catawba County .

“I have a brilliant shelter staff and volunteers,” said Jane Bowers, the Humane Society’s executive director. “But they can’t give them as much attention as these guys can. We heard from 7:30 in the morning until 9 p.m. at night, they’re with their handlers.”

Graduation celebrates the completion of three months of one-on-one basic obedience training with the inmates.

“Through this program, dogs and offenders alike discover new beginnings. They learn from one another,” Woodby explained at graduation.

In turn, the pets had a paw in rehabilitating their new friends.

“Good boy, yes you are,” Dietz told Kessler. “I’m sure going to miss you, buddy.”

Dietz is a convicted habitual felon, serving a more than 16-year sentence. Cocaine addiction derailed his life, he says.

“No matter your record, what you’ve done, people forgive,” said Dietz. “It’s what you do moving forward.”

“Everyone in my family loves dogs,” said Dietz’s mother, Judy Cline.

She’s seen a positive change in her son’s outlook since he became active in New Leash on Life.

“I think it’s done wonders for him, but also caused him some heartbreak, too. Because he has to give them up,” she says.

Meanwhile, Walker was sentenced to close to 18 years for manslaughter and robbery.

“Being a jerk and a drug addict is what landed me in prison,” Walker says. “Now that I’ve been looking through sober and clear eyes, I never want that part of life again.”

“Be a cool dog, there you go!” he tells Liam, after putting a pair of sunglasses on the golden retriever/yellow lab mix.

In the company of canines, their rap sheet doesn’t matter as much.

“After you’re done with the dogs, it gives you a sense of completion,” Walker says.

For these men, the chance to work with the animals unleashes a sense of hope for the future. So far, their adoption rate is 100 percent.

“It’s taught me responsibility, commitment, because these dogs are a commitment, and it’s changed my life forever,” Dietz says.

Graduation is the end of a special bond as they take a victory lap.

“Say ‘I’m done, all my tricks are over,” Walker tells Liam, as the audience applauds.

“They bring a lot of joy in your life,” Diets says.

That makes it that makes it even harder to say goodbye.

“Hey, I’m going to miss you boy. I hope you miss me,” said Dietz. “Hey, my little buddy.”

Days after graduation day, Humane Society of Catawba County said Kessler was adopted by a family.

The Humane Society of Catawba County says the other grad, Liam, is meeting with potential owners.

In the past year, seven dogs have been adopted after receiving training through New Leash on Life.

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