Catawba Correctional Center has partnered with Catawba County Animal Care & Control to help save and train dogs that would otherwise be euthanized and to teach inmates responsibility with new skills.

"A New Leash on Life" is a program that allows minimum and medium custody state prisons to partner with local animal shelters and animal welfare agencies to train dogs in preparation for their adoption. It gives inmates a chance to serve communities by training dogs to be well-behaved pets.

Selected dogs are placed with inmate trainers in a prison setting for eight weeks. The inmates teach basic obedience, house training and socialization through positive reinforcement and repetition. Dogs are taught to walk on and off the leash and to respond to basic commands.