So Far So Good!

After meeting only two days ago, Air Force veteran Rick Hayes and his new service dog Malachi are getting along quite well.

Hayes said, “I figured I would come in and there’s a dog trained and ready to go and I would just learn the commands and everything would be great, but it’s a bigger process than that.”

Hayes and Malachi are going through a week of bonding activities. Malachi grew up at the consolidated Naval Brig in North Charleston, a prison for service members who committed a crime while in the military. He now knows nearly 100 commands.

The program, Canines for Service is about 9 to 14 months long. The dogs are all rescued from the shelter. They go through personality tests and are matched with a trained prisoner who will be with the dog 24/7. It’s a deal where both can get a second chance and the prisoners can give back to a veteran in need.

Read more about Rick and Malachi here.