Update on Phoenix Flight

All of my dogs graduated their Canine Good Citizen Test last night. This is probably the hardest thing I've done since I've worked in a prison. It has been fun, rewarding, sad, disappointing, and sometimes scary.

I have had to remove two of the trainers. That sucked. We lost a 3rd due to a court-ordered treatment transfer the day before the test. The other two trainers were flying stupid in a no-stupid-zone and had to be tagged. I hated doing it, but I am ultimately responsible for the safety of my dogs.

Next week is graduation, and then I have three weeks to find homes for 4 of the 5 dogs, before we bring the next crew of six in. My boss is already freaking out this time. I told him that normally he gives me until the week before, he said he was trying to beat the rush on freaking out. It all makes me tired.

The program has not been without its detractors. There have been both officers and classification staff that have wanted to see this fail. There have been others who waited until they saw signs of success before attacking. I will stand by this program no matter what. We are doing the right thing, for both the dogs and the offenders. This is the most important thing I've done since I started working for the Department 5 years ago. And, in the end, we will succeed. We may be tired, we may be stressed, but we will stand and be counted in the end as people who have done a positive thing for both offenders and rescue dogs.