MCSO launches new program to connect dogs with jailed veterans

PHOENIX (KSAZ) - A new program has been launched that will bring dogs and jailed veterans together in Maricopa County.

The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office says Maricopa Animal Safe Haven Unit dogs will visit inmates weekly at the veterans pod at Towers Jail in the Durango Complex.

The goal of the new program is to help these inmates deal with stress, including PTSD. The program will also help incarcerated dogs relate to human touch.

"We owe the veteran a special debt of gratitude, even after their issues with the law," Sheriff Joe Arpaio said.

All of the dogs in the MASH Unite are formerly abused or neglected and have been seized from previous owners under criminal circumstances. The program was created 15 years ago and the dogs are cared for daily by female inmates.