A unique program by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department combines dog training with life skills lessons while helping shelter pets find homes.
Blue Line Dogs is a nine-week program that pairs young people with traumatized therapy dogs who had assisted first responders while they were in service. Teens are taught responsibility and shelter animals are socialized to improve their chances for adoption, said retired LAPD Detective and founder Gil Escontrias.
15-year-old Isaac Macias said that this program taught him how to work with others.
“One of the skills that we learned was how to maintain them [the dogs]; it's like a dog could be just like a human, it could be just like a child,” he said. “As long as you have the patience and are able to work with them, it could give you many life skills.”
L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna said this program teaches kids about confidence and empathy while saving animals.
“You see these kids, you see the looks on their faces,” Luna said. “We're saving dogs from a shelter. You put that together and I think it's a great program that I think's really going to take off.”
Nearly every shelter dog involved in the program found a home.
The program hopes to expand the pilot to help even more animals and young people in the future.
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