PERRY, Florida: Millions of dogs end up in animal shelters on death row and are euthanized every year for lack of basic training and a little love. Now an innovative new program is not only giving these unlucky canines a second chance - it is also giving convicted felons a chance at rehabilitation and to repay a small part of their debt to society.

The Canine Undergoing Training Obedience in Prison to Increase Adoptability (UTOPIA) program kills two birds with one stone. Firstly it takes unwanted and abandoned dogs from animal shelters and offers them obedience training to give them a better chance of finding new owners. Secondly, it gives some of society's less-privileged members - prison inmates - a better chance at learning social skills and fitting back into society. Believe it or not, all UTOPIA canine training takes place behind bars and the prison inmates are the actual trainers.

All over the US, programs like UTOPIA are fast gaining popularity as a good way both to help inmates and to try and reduce the number of dogs being put to sleep each year. In fact, according to the PetLynx PetMeter, almost three million dogs will be euthanized this year alone.

The UTOPIA program is a joint initiative of the Community Animal Service Center together with the Taylor Correctional Institute (TCI). Not only do these dogs another chance at life, equally importantly the inmates become totally involved in the training and overall well-being of their canine for the next six to eight weeks. All dogs receive socialization and basic obedience training. Only after the training will the dogs be offered for adoption.

"“I am personally responsible for the pairing of each inmate with their partner dog," said animal consultant Jay King. "I intentionally pair them with a dog that they don’t particularly feel comfortable with. They are responsible for their pet the whole day making sure that the dog is fed, given a bath and of course, trained.

"After constant supervision and continuous training, this teaches the inmates the importance of being responsible for another life," Mr King said.

Case in point is inmate Adolf Clark, who trained a five-year old plott hound named Loki. As a kid, Clark never owned a dog and never developed an affinity for them. However during the eight-week training course Clark said Loki taught him about unconditional love and forgiveness.

“"I never imagined that I would learn something from a dog but I really did," Clark said. "Loki showed me the importance of accepting responsibility not only for myself but for the people around me as well. I learned about loving without expecting anything in return and about forgiveness,”" he said.

Another example is Robert Parker Jr. He took care of Coda, a two-year-old Labrador Retriever mix who can now sit, stay and behave when told to. Parker even taught Coda to roll over, although he kept this from his fellow inmates.

“"It’s been a long time since I felt like this. It feels good to have someone to take care of," Parker said. "I am very happy with the program and I would love to continue doing this."

The first class of 10 dogs who underwent the UTOPIA training graduated graduated in July this year. Seven of the ten dogs were almost immediately adopted. Adoption fees are only $150 which includes behavioral and health assessment, rabies vaccination, pet tag, as well as specific vaccinations depending on the animal's age, sterilization, six months heartworm treatment and even an AVID microchip.

“"It’s a win-win situation for all of us. We are not only able to give these dogs a new leash on life but the same can also be said with their human partners,”" said Duffie Harrison, Warden of the Taylor Correctional Institution.