Two puppies raised inside Southeastern Correctional Institution in Lancaster, Ohio, left the prison around late October 2025 to begin professional service dog training with Canine Companions.

The move marks the next phase for Mojo and Lancaster, the pair of dogs raised by incarcerated handlers under a structured curriculum run in partnership between Canine Companions and the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. They will continue their education at Canine Companions’ North Central Training Center in New Albany, Ohio.

The puppies arrived at the prison in November 2023 and lived inside the facility with vetted inmate handlers as part of a program that pairs incarcerated individuals with young dogs for daily care and basic training. This hands-on regimen aims to give the animals intensive socialization and obedience practice before they move into professional training. Furthermore, this type of program not only benefits the puppies but also aims to support inmate rehabilitation by fostering vocational skills and responsibility; some prison-dog programs have reported positive impacts on participants, including improved behavior and personal development. How does the training of service dogs in prison programs contribute to inmate rehabilitation?

Under the program’s standard progression, Mojo and Lancaster began the professional phase in October 2025. They are expected to spend six to nine months at the New Albany center working with Canine Companions trainers; after that period, they may be matched with an adult, child, or veteran with a disability. It is noteworthy that while the success rate of service dogs varies by organization, studies and organizations often report that only a minority of puppies trained as service dogs successfully complete training and are placed as working service dogs.

The prison-based model used at Southeastern Correctional Institution is part of a national approach that places puppies with incarcerated handlers to raise and socialize them under a structured schedule. Programs of this type report higher completion rates; for example, media coverage of the Canine Companions prison program has cited graduation rates roughly 10 percentage points higher than for traditionally raised puppies.

Officials from Canine Companions and the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction oversee the partnership that moves dogs from on-site raising to off-site professional training. The New Albany facility serves as a centralized training center where dogs are evaluated, receive advanced skills training, and are prepared for potential placement. The process ensures that dogs will be trained to meet Canine Companions’ internal standards; under the Americans with Disabilities Act, there is no federal certification requirement or mandatory accrediting body for service dog training organizations. What are the requirements for organizations to become certified service dog trainers?

Reporter Jane Imbody of the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette covered the transition of Mojo and Lancaster from the prison program into professional training. Local and organizational materials describe the prison portion of the program as daily, structured work in which handlers attend regular training classes and practice skills with the puppies.

Program backers say the approach benefits both the animals and the incarcerated participants: dogs receive concentrated socialization and obedience practice, while handlers gain responsibility and vocational experience by caring for and training the animals during their time at the facility.

Mojo and Lancaster’s departure to professional training follows months of in-prison handling that prepared them for the next stage. At the New Albany center, trainers will build on that foundation with community exposure, advanced obedience and task training, and evaluations that determine whether each dog will be placed as a service animal.

The partnership between Canine Companions and the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction places Southeastern Correctional Institution among several correctional facilities that contribute to the pipeline of service dogs through prison-based puppy raising. The program’s operators say the multistage model—prison raising followed by professional training—helps supply well-socialized candidates for service work.

Source

Original reporting: view the original article.