How Parole Puppies Motivated an Ex-Inmate to Become a Veterinary Technician

Joe Denti was incarcerated for a total of 34 years at the Jefferson City Correctional Center—ages 16 to 50. Now, he gives back to his community and its pets as a veterinary technician, which has allowed him to spend nearly 15 years as a participant in a restorative justice program called Puppies for Parole.

We spoke with Denti about his incredible journey and the dogs that changed his life while behind bars.

What are Parole Puppies?

Denti became Puppies for Parole’s full-time dog trainer shortly after the program was introduced to the Missouri Department of Corrections in 2010. Puppies for Parole is a restorative justice program that pairs inmates with local shelter dogs to provide them with the necessary training they need to increase their chances of adoption.

And even though Denti is a self-proclaimed dog lover, learning how to properly train dogs has been an adjustment.

“When we first started, we didn’t really know what we were doing in terms of training, not only did we train, but we also rehabilitated,” says Denti. “A lot of these shelter dogs have issues that we have to try to overcome. It’s easy to adopt a dog that doesn’t have any issues.”

Eventually, Denti and his fellow trainers were able to get into a groove, thanks to the dog training resources they provided the participants. Royal Canin USAsponsor of nutrition and education programs.

“Royal Canin offered us a lot of resources – we had the desire and we knew what the end goal was, but we didn’t know how to get there,” says Denti. “We’ve had a lot of help from people to help us get there, to learn, to grow, to get better.”

In its current state, each dog enrolled in Puppies for Parole completes an 8-10 week program with the help of its resident dog trainer who follows the framework Canine Good Citizen (CGC) exama 10-skill test created by the American Kennel Club (AKC) that teaches dogs good behavior and responsible ownership of their owners.

Impact of puppies for parole

In 2023, Puppies for Parole celebrated its 7,000th adoption. dog and is considered one of the most successful restorative justice programs in the country. But for Denti, the numbers and statistics pale in comparison to the impact Puppies for Parole has on an individual.

“It’s about saving lives,” Denti says, “and improving the quality of life not only for the dog, but now we have the opportunity to reach out and put that dog in a family that will have not only a well-trained family member, but a loving family member. ”

His time with Puppies for Parole also served as an opportunity for Denti to heal something within himself.

“For us as handlers, we can take something that’s broken, something that represents to some extent what many of us who have been incarcerated have experienced — brokenness — and put it back together,” Denti says.

“With every dog ​​we work with, we learn something about ourselves, whether it’s understanding relationships to what we’ve experienced, or what we’ve caused someone else to experience,” adds Denti. “And I’m really big on that because some of these dogs represent people that we’ve victimized: things that I’ve done to another human being, another human being has done to this dog, so that constantly reinforces the empathy of what that dog went through.”

Joe Denti, veterinary technician and dog dad

After being released from the Jefferson City Correctional Center, Denti is determined to continue helping local pets in need. He recently started school to become a registered veterinary technician (RVT), thanks to a scholarship made possible by Royal Canin USA. In this new role, Denti hopes to save lives in ways he couldn’t before as a dog trainer.

“Once we got an old woman in the program english bulldog that we lost because they didn’t know that she had another stillborn when she gave birth,” recalls Denti. “I was helpless in that situation. Yes, I did it. I kind of made up my mind that I wasn’t going to be helpless anymore – I wanted to learn everything I could.”

Denti is studying to become certified online while also working at a local veterinary clinic, giving him the hands-on experience he needs to provide the desired level of care for the example.

“Pets are family, so it’s important to me that they get and give them the highest quality of care that I’m able to give them, and that’s where my education comes in,” Denti says.

In her spare time—in between classes and hours at the clinic—Denti supports Puppies for Parole in any way she can, but no single feat will ever be better than being able to adopt her pet straight from the program: Cookie the dog.

“The transition from prison to society is a bit difficult,” says Denti. “I’ve been blessed to have the support of people who care, but at the end of the day, Cookie is there for me. She’s helped me through a lot.”

You can learn more about the life-changing work made possible by Puppies for Parole and meet the dogs currently eligible for adoption by visiting https://doc.mo.gov/programs/puppies-parole