The Reception and Medical Center Correctional Facility celebrated the first anniversary of its Paw Camp program Friday.
Located in Union County, the facility offers a program where inmates are paired with a dog in order to teach the dogs obedience and socialization skills.
“We take dogs that have been abandoned and we pair them with an inmate trainer,” said Hope Gartmen, the assistant warden.
The program serves as a second chance for the dogs and its trainers.
“Every time that I get up in the morning and look over my shoulder to see that dog, it makes me smile in a place where that’s hard to purchase,” inmate Christopher Barber said.