Ohio prisoners help make pound dogs more adoptable

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — A program through which Ohio prison inmates train pound dogs to help them get adopted has graduated its first class of four canine students.

The Blade newspaper of Toledo reports the Lucas County Dog Warden’s program called Ph.D. — Prisoners Helping Dogs — operates at the Toledo Correctional Institution.

It started in February, using minimum-security inmates at the Toledo institution’s prison camp, now closed due to state budget cuts. Now it uses inmates who are close-security, the third level in the state’s five-level system.

A shepherd dog named Pudgie spent weeks with a former death row inmate and a man convicted of burglary and other crimes.

John Spirko, whose death sentence was commuted, says Pudgie taught him companionship.

Trainer David Brody, who’s serving 17 years, says he learned patience.