Puppies for Parole prepares dogs for adoption, rehabilitating prisoners

May 30, 2012 at 5:59 a.m. | Updated May 30, 2012 at 5:59 a.m.

Nala and Gibbs play together as their handlers are interviewed recently at Algoa Correctional Center. Both are from a Fulton animal shelter and are being trained by offenders at Algoa.
Nala and Gibbs play together as their handlers are interviewed recently at Algoa Correctional Center. Both are from a Fulton animal shelter and are being trained by offenders at Algoa.

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Photo by Lauren Clark

Josh, Ted and Carol Merrill

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Photo by Lauren Clark

Brittani Wells, Mark Ring, Amber Mayfield, John and Tonya Baldwin

A Labrador mix and "smart as a little whip," Nala has the distinction of being the 50th dog to be rescued, trained and on her way to a permanent home through the Puppies for Parole at Algoa Correctional Center.

Her pal Gibbs, a Chihuahua mix, also will graduate on the program's one-year anniversary at the end of June.

Inmates at 18 of the 20 Missouri Department of Corrections facilities have trained more than 900 dogs, which otherwise may have been euthanized, since director George Lombardi invited wardens to try the program in February 2010.

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