06/17/2026
Celebrating 9 years at Dick Conner Correctional Center with STAR - Save, Train and Rehabilitate!
It's been a while since we did a Tails From The Inside but one of our handlers wanted to celebrate our nine year anniversary at DCCC while CARE Rescue was celebrating our tenth!
"Nine years ago, a program was started that did more than rescue dogs...it rescued pieces of people too.
Being a part of the STAR Dog Program has forever impacted my life in ways words can hardly explain. Through This program, I've had the priviliege of helping train and rehabilitate incredible dogs like Sandy, Major, Moose, Scooter, Gia and now Mercedes, our prison therapy dog.
Watching each one heal, learn trust again,k and eventually go on to loving homes has been one of the greatest blessings of my journey.
But somewhere along the way, I realized the transfer motion wasn't just happening in the dogs...it was happening in us, the trainers as well.
These dogs come in broken, abandoned, neglected, misunderstood, and sometimes belligerent because of the environment they came from. In many ways, their stories reflected our own. Yet through patience, consistency, love, structure and purpose, we watched them become something completely different. And in helping them change, many of us began to believe that change was possible for ourselves as well.
That revelation became a major foundation for what I'm building through the Ready for Change Program. Just like these rescue dogs, people who have been written off by society still deserve an opportunity to heal, grow and become who God created them to be. The same principles that restore these dogs...trust, accountability, discipline, compassion and purpose are the same principles that can restore lives, families and entire communities.
The STAR Dog Program has shown me that rehabilitation is real. Redemption is real. Purpose is real.
I want to give special honor to Ms. Andy and Angela. You both are truly God-sent. Your compassion, dedication and belief in both the dogs and the men involved in this program have created something much bigger than training dogs. You've created hope. You've given many of us the opportunity to experience responsibility, healing, patience and unconditional love in an environment where those things are often rare.
Because of this program, families gained companions, dogs gained homes, and many of us gained a new perspective on life and who we still have the potential to become.
As STAR celebrates nine years, I believe the impact can not simply be measured by the number of dogs rescued, but by the number of hearts transformed along the way.
Thank you for believing in second chances...for the dogs and us!
Sincerely touched,
Mr. Jeremiah Finch"
