BCSO Paws & Stripes Graduation a Success
By Wayne Ivey, Brevard County Sheriff // December 4, 2013
program partners Rescue Dogs with inmates
ABOVE VIDEO: Inmates train shelter dogs for adoption at Brevard County Sheriff’s Office.
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA –The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office graduated its latest class in its Paws & Stripes® graduation.
The event was open to the public and showcased this incredible program that partners Rescue Dogs with incarcerated inmates to help each other through difficult times.
Paws & Stripes® is a unique partnership between the Sheriff’s Office, Brevard County Animal Services and Enforcement, the Central Brevard Humane Society, and the SPCA of North Brevard.
This program pairs up carefully selected and trained Jail inmates with shelter dogs that are at a significant risk of being euthanized.
“This program is an excellent tool for our community,” said Sheriff Wayne Ivey.
By being partnered together the inmates learn nurturing, responsibility, and compassion while the dogs go through obedience training to ready them for adoption by a local family.
During this eight-week course, inmates train their canine partners to be responsive to both voice commands and hand signals.
The dogs are house broken and learn all basic obedience skills.
TEACHING MUCH NEEDED JOB SKILLS
The inmates who participate in the Paws and Stripes® Program gain a sense of accomplishment while they learn techniques in dog training, general pet grooming, and veterinary assistant skills.
In addition, they complete a Pet First Aid and CPR course and are given the opportunity to acquire their Level 1 Certification from the International Boarding and Pet Care Services Association.
This, in turn, can be very useful in job placement upon their release from the Brevard County Jail.
“This program is an excellent tool for our community,” said Sheriff Wayne Ivey.
“It teaches the inmates a much needed skill set while also helping them to understand the value of caring for something in need and responsibility. The dogs are rescued from horrible conditions, trained in obedience, and eventually placed with a caring family. That is a win/win for the inmates, the dogs, and our community.”
OVER 250 DOGS WILL HAVE SUCCESSFULLY PASSED
With next Tuesday’s graduation, over 250 dogs will have successfully passed the program.
During the eight week training, the inmates are innovative and enjoy the opportunity to teach basic behavior skills and fun tricks that the dogs will be preforming at graduation.
Each of the dogs are available for adoption and the Sheriff’s Office program currently has a 100 percent adoption success rate.
The public is invited to attend the graduation, which is not only entertaining, but inspiring as well.
Many of the inmates have said that this program not only gave them the inspiration they needed to get through their sentence, but more importantly, the passion they needed to get back into society.
HOW TO ADOPT A PAWS & STRIPES GRADUATE
Paws & Stripes® is a unique partnership between the Sheriff’s Office, Brevard County Animal Services and Enforcement, the Central Brevard Humane Society, and the SPCA of North Brevard.
This program pairs up carefully selected and trained Jail inmates with shelter dogs that are at a significant risk of being euthanized.
During this eight-week course, inmates train their canine partners to be responsive to both voice commands and hand signals.
The dogs are housebroken and learn all basic obedience skills to include: heel, sit, down, stay, and come.
At the end of their training, the canine recruits are tested by an AKC Canine Good Citizen Evaluator and receive their CGC Certification prior to finding a permanent home.
The inmates who participate in the Paws and Stripes® Program gain a sense of accomplishment while they learn techniques in dog training, general pet grooming, and veterinary assistant skills.
In addition, they complete a Pet First Aid and CPR course and are given the opportunity to acquire their Level 1 Certification from the International Boarding and Pet Care Services Association.
This, in turn, can be very useful in job placement upon their release from the Brevard County Jail.
Thank you for your interest in adopting a “Paws & Stripes®” graduate!
Dogs are adopted by one of the agencies listed below. The adopting agency is listed under the dog’s photo on the adoptable dogs web page.
Please contact the appropriate agency directly for more information.
SPCA of North Brevard
455 Cheney Highway
Titusville, Florida 32780
(321) 267-8221
Central Brevard Humane Society
1020 Cox Road
Cocoa, Florida 32926
(321) 636-3343
South Brevard Animal Care & Adoption Center
5100 West Eau Gallie Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32935
(321) 253-6608
North Animal Care & Adoption Center
2605 Flake Rd.
Titusville, Florida 32796
(321) 264-5119
HOW TO DONATE TO THE PROGRAM
If you’d like to make a donation to the Paws & Stripes Program, please send a check or money order to: “The Central Brevard Humane Society” located at 1020 Cox Road in Cocoa,
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey has been a law enforcement officer for over three decades. Sheriff Ivey is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and has a Bachelor’s Degree from Daytona State College in Management and Supervision. Sheriff Ivey’s background in law enforcement is inclusive of Management, Criminal Investigations, Narcotics, Patrol Services, Public Integrity Investigations, and Corrections.
Prior to being elected in 2012, Sheriff Ivey served the citizens of the State of Florida as a Resident Agent in Charge for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. As a member of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Sheriff Ivey developed and created the country’s first ever statewide Task Force on Identity Theft.
That same year the Task Force was named one of the top five most innovative programs in the country by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and investigated approximately 44 million dollars in fraud cases.
Additionally, as a member of FDLE, Sheriff Ivey created the Child Abduction Response Team (C.A.R.T) that re-defined the way Child Abduction cases are conducted throughout the country today. The program was later selected as the most innovative program in the country by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and is now used as a nationwide model in the response and investigation of child abductions.
Sheriff Ivey has testified before the United States Congress on law enforcement related matters and has extensive experience in the area of Public Integrity Investigations. Sheriff Ivey was honored as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Special Agent of the Year (1996) and was also recognized by the Commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for his Outstanding Contributions to Criminal Justice. In August of 2011 Sheriff Ivey was honored by the National Organization of Victims Advocacy for his work at the national level as an advocate of victim’s rights and protection.
Sheriff Ivey speaks regularly on topics such as Identity Theft, Crime in America, Human Trafficking, Domestic Violence, and Self Defense through Mental Preparedness. Sheriff Ivey firmly believes that Crime Prevention and Education are vital to reduce our crime rate and protect our community.
