Joe Denti was a standout participant in Puppies for Parole , a restorative justice computer programme that pairs inmates with rescue dogs ask training .
Joe Denti was incarcerated for a total of 34 years at the Jefferson City Correctional Center — from eld 16 to age 50 . Now , he ’s giving back to his community and its pets as a veterinary technician , made possible by his virtually 15 years as a player in a revitalizing justice programme called Puppies for Parole .
We let the cat out of the bag to Denti about his unbelievable journey and the dogs that change his life while behind bars .
What is Puppies for Parole?
Denti became a Puppies for Parole resident hound flight simulator shortly after the program was introduced to the Missouri Department of Corrections in 2010 . Puppies for Parole is a recuperative judge political platform that pairs inmates withlocal tax shelter dogsto provide them with the necessary training they demand to increase their chance of adoption .
And even though Denti is a ego - proclaimed dog lover , learning how to properly train dogs was an adjustment .
" When we first embark on , we did n’t really know what we were doing as far as grooming , not only preparation but also we were rehabilitating , " Denti says . " A fate of these shelter dog have issues that we have to seek to overcome . It ’s easy to adopt a detent that does n’t have any problems . "
" Royal Canin offered us a lot of resourcefulness — we had a desire and we knew what the remainder end was , but we did n’t love how to get there , " Denti says . " We had a lot of assistance from masses to help us get there , to learn , to grow , so that we could be better . "
In its current state , each hotdog enrolled in Puppies for Parole completes an 8 - 10 - calendar week programme with the help of their resident dog trainer that follows the model of theCanine Good Citizen ( CGC ) examination , a 10 - skill test created by the American Kennel Club ( AKC ) that instruct good manners to dogs and responsible ownership to their owners .
The Impact of Puppies for Parole
In 2023 , Puppies for Parole celebrated adopting out its 7,000th dog and is consider one of the most successful restorative justice computer program in the country . But for Denti , the numbers and statistics pale in comparing to the impact Puppies for Parole has on the individual .
" It ’s about write a life history , " Denti order , " and improving the character of life not only for the dog but now we get the opportunity to progress to out and put that dog in a family that is going to have not only a well - trained kinfolk phallus but also a loving family appendage . "
His time with Puppies for Parole also serve as a chance for Denti to heal something within himself .
" For us as handlers , we ’re able to take something that is break , something that represent to some level what many of us that were in prison have experienced — brokenness — and put it back together , " Denti say .
" With every detent that we mould with , we learn something about ourselves , whether it ’s an understanding of a relation to what we ’ve experience , or what we ’ve caused somebody else to experience , " Denti adds . " And I ’m really big on that because some of these dogs map people that we nobble : the thing that I ’ve done to another human being , another human being has done to this dog , so it continuously reinforce empathy about what that dog has experienced . "
Joe Denti, Veterinary Technician and Dog Dad
" One metre in the program , we receive an oldEnglish Bulldogthat we about lost because they did n’t know that she still had another stillborn when she gave birth , " Denti recalls . " In that billet , I was helpless . Yeah , I made it . I kind of driven in my head that I was n’t going to be incapacitated anymore — I wanted to get a line everything that I could . "
Denti is take to earn his certification online while also working at a local veterinary clinic , giving him the hands - on experience he needs to allow his want level of exemplary care .
" Pets are family , so it ’s of import for me that they get and I give the utmost quality of precaution that I ’m able to give them , and that ’s where my Education Department fare in , " Denti says .
In his spare time — between his classes and clinic hours — Denti supports pup for Parole in every way he can , but no single effort will ever top being able to take in a dearie of his own directly from the plan : Cookie the dog .
" The transition from incarceration to society is somewhat kind of difficult , " Denti enounce . " I have been blessed in get sustenance from mass who manage , but at the end of the day , though , Cookie is by my side . She ’s helped me through a spate . "
you’re able to learn more about the life-time - changing workplace made potential by Puppies for Parole and meet the cad presently eligible for adoption by visitinghttps://doc.mo.gov/programs/puppies-parole
