Handcuffs to Heeling

Gould, a former commanding officer of the Nassau County Police Canine Unit and an NYPD canine handler, has more than 35 years of commercial dog training experience. He is a graduate of the FBI Academy and has taught countless classes on canine management and training. Along with animal advocate Barbara Dennihy, who helped initiate the program with the correctional facility, Mike and his staff look forward to taking the training program national. “This program has the potential to help thousands of dogs and inmates make their lives better.”

The dogs from the Town of Brookhaven Animal Shelter were selected by Gould with the help of shelter director Ashley Boyd, who was very instrumental in facilitating the process. Dogs had to meet three criteria: they had to be in need of a good home; social with other dogs; and friendly with people. After the six dogs were selected, they were transported to Hounds Town Charities where they stayed for several days before being introduced to the inmates. The charity is headquartered at Hounds Town Ronkonkoma, one of five fully interactive doggie daycare and boarding facilities part of Hounds Town USA–a pet care franchise founded by Gould. Here, the dogs were able to decompress and play in groups of other dogs throughout the day. Throughout the course of the program, the dogs will remain at Hounds Town Charities so they enjoy socialization in a consistent environment. “We don’t want the dogs going back to the shelter ever,” says Gould. “The goal is to get the dogs adopted soon after graduation date in mid-October.”