Hero Pups Training Program Returns To The Merrimack County Jail

BOSCAWEN, NH — A nonprofit that provides support dogs to eligible veterans and first responders is again receiving help from Merrimack County Jail inmates.

Hero Pups, an all-volunteer nonprofit in New Hampshire, will begin working with inmates at the jail on Tuesday to have them train dogs for support roles. Travis J. Cushman, the Merrimack County Department of Corrections superintendent, said the Hero Pups program started in 2019 but was paused due to the coronavirus pandemic. Now that operations at the jail have returned to normal, he said, he was “thrilled to relaunch” the program.

“Through this partnership, we have developed a program aimed at making a meaningful impact on the lives of veterans, first responders, and incarcerated individuals,” Cushman said. “Selected inmates will work under the guidance of Hero Pups staff to assist in the training and care of puppies, who will go on to change the lives of the service members they are paired with.”

Cushman said the partnership with the jail had led to “many dogs” being trained and matched with those who needed support dogs.

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