Dogs on the Inside

"Dogs on the Inside" is a 2014 documentary film about the rehabilitation program at North Central Correctional Institution in Gardner, Massachusetts, where prisoner inmates care for stray and abused dogs. The film follows the pairings of prisoners and dogs from their first meeting to adoption into loving families. Through this initiative under Don't Throw Us Away, a nonprofit rescues dogs from Southern Kill Shelters and partners them with prisoner inmates to prepare for potential adoption. The program, led by Brean Cunningham and Douglas Seirup, shows that connected by their troubled pasts, the dogs learn to have faith in people again while the inmates are reminded of their own humanity and capacity for love and empathy.