CHANCE Program

The CHANCE program began in the summer of 2006. So far we have graduated over 30 dogs. CHANCE stands for Canine Handlers Achieving Career Education. Dogs from the New Castle Animal Shelter are placed with low risk offenders at the New Castle Correctional Facility for 10-12 weeks and trainers from Happy, Clean and Smart travel out there weekly to help the offenders train the dogs. They follow a curriculum and teach the dog basic commands and tricks. Last year, the New Castle shelter received a grant for agility equipment so dogs now learn basic agility at the prison as well. The dogs live in crates right next to the beds and the men are in charge of taking care of the dogs 24 hours per day. Each week the men are tested on the dog's training progress and at the end the men have the opportunity to show off the dogs during a graduation open to the public. The dogs are available for adoption and families are able to adopt older trained dogs from the shelter. It is a win win win situation for everyone. The inmates learn a new skill, the shelter frees up space and the trainers get to work with new handlers and dogs each session and enhance their skills. Bonnie Krupa and Kristy Anderson have been volunteering since the program begin in June of 2006 and are very proud of the program's success. The program is sponsored by Happy, Clean and Smart, Fancy Dog Grooming, the New Castle Animal Hospital and Midwest Metal.