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Families sought for Md. prison pup training

By WTOP Staff

WESTOVER, Md. (AP) — The Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services says it needs more local families to volunteer as weekend hosts for puppies in training as service dogs for disabled military veterans.

The prison agency and the America’s VetDogs organization are putting out a call Wednesday for volunteers in the Westover area.

Spokesman Mark Vernarelli says there’s an acute need for weekend hosts there. He says six puppies are being trained by inmates at Eastern Correctional Institution but the prison could take 14 more if enough families step up.

The dogs spend their weekends at private homes to experience family life, shopping malls, traffic lights and other things they can’t learn about in prison.

The program assigns the puppies to incarcerated veterans for 14 months of training.

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