(BOP) - FCI Morgantown operates the Veterans-to-Veterans Service Dog Training Program in collaboration with West Virginia University’s (WVU) Division of Animal and Nutritional Sciences and Counseling. The inmates in the program are all military veterans who provide supervision and care for an assigned service dog 24 hours a day, seven days a week while they are training the dog to help veterans in the community. The inmates participate in classes taught by certified WVU instructors at least four days a week. Inmate-veterans who complete the required coursework receive a service dog trainer certification from a non-profit organization. The inmates also gain useful experience and knowledge, and an opportunity to give back to fellow veterans. Upon successful completion of their training, the dogs are provided to veterans in the community who have mobility impairments and/or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
The inmate trainers, and the dogs assigned to them, reside together in a wing of a housing unit set apart from the rest of the inmate population