East Feliciana prison raising puppies for disabled children

It’s rare for a tiny bundle of joy to be delivered at Dixon Correctional Institute, a medium-security men’s prison in East Feliciana Parish, writes Adrian Hirsch in the October issue of 225 magazine. “But for nearly nine months, the staff and inmates at DCI have eagerly awaited the arrival of four little nippers. As the specially bred retriever puppies are spirited through the front gates, DCI becomes one of four prisons in the southeastern United States selected to be puppy raisers for Canine Companions for Independence,” Hirsch writes. “Celebrated by author Dean Koontz in A Big Little Life, the California-based nonprofit provides highly trained dogs—free of charge—to children and adults with disabilities such as multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, autism, hearing impairments and arthritis. It’s the latest development in a pilot program that already provides inmates with career skills, rural communities with a shelter for homeless animals, and the public with quality pets.” Read the full story here.