August 9, 2014, was one of the most memorable days of my life. On that day I entered a maximum-security prison in Lancaster, Calif. to witness an extraordinary event connecting the lives of some of its inmates with a pack of rescued shelter dogs. Just a few months ago, five lucky dogs -- Shelby, Oreo, Rendell, Chuey and Eddie -- beat the odds and were pulled from a high-kill shelter in Los Angeles and entered this Level 4 prison for a chance at a better life.
Earlier this year, Karma Rescue, a nonprofit that saves at-risk dogs from high-kill shelters across Southern California, partnered with the California State Prison Los Angeles County in Lancaster to create "Paws for Life," a program that matches rescued dogs with inmates who train them to boost their odds of adoption. Programs that pair inmates with shelter dogs exist across the nation, but this is the first program in California to take place at a high-security prison with inmates serving life sentences.
[For more of this story, written by Patricia Fitzgerald, go to http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...-life_b_5760042.html]
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