THROUGH A NEW PROGRAM launched by the BC SPCA and the Correctional Service of Canada, dogs from shelters in Greater Vancouver are being sent to Abbotsford’s Sumas Community Correctional Centre to receive training from inmates.

“Many of the dogs we receive in our shelters have never received any kind of obedience training,” says Bob Gordon, an SPCA officer who helped to create the program. “Others have developed problem behaviours as a result of abuse. Sadly, some of them remain in our shelters for months, because people are wary of adopting them.”

Inmates work with the dogs daily to overcome fear and mistrust of humans and to curb behaviours such as jumping, pulling excessively on the leash and lack of attentiveness to commands. Once the dogs have been rehabilitated, they return to SPCA shelters for adoption.

“This program also encourages responsibility and discipline in our residents and helps the men to develop relationships of affection and trust — something they may not have experienced in their lives,” says Erwin Berg of the Correctional Service of Canada.

Funded by the BC SPCA and the federal government, this is the second partnership between the Sumas Centre and the BC SPCA. The two also sponsor the Ark project, which provides temporary sheltering for up to 600 SPCA cats annually.