Marley’s Mutts, the largest nonprofit animal rescue in Kern County, lives by the slogan “Rescue Dogs Rescuing People.” In this week’s Kern’s Kindness, we sit down with the founder about why that phrase is more than just words: it’s something they’ve put into practice, and now, they are trying to revive the opportunity for redemption at Wasco State Prison.
The chance for redemption comes from the love between human and dog. Enter: the Pawsitive Change program. This is the animal nonprofit's prison rehabilitation program that partners rescue dogs with a cohort of incarcerated people for 14 weeks.
While in the program, the dogs learn valuable obedience skills and build trust with their trainers, and the incarcerated people involved are given the chance to rehabilitate themselves through the love of a dog. There are currently two active Pawsitive Change classes in Kern County: one at North Kern State Prison in Delano and the other at the California Correctional Institution (CCI) in Tehachapi. Click here to view our previous coverage of North Kern's program.
Between 2017 and 2020, Pawsitive Change classes created just that: positive outcomes for the incarcerated population in Wasco. Like many things, though, the Wasco classes halted in 2020 at the start of the pandemic.
“We lost that program during COVID,” Zach Skow said. “It was pretty devastating, and we weren't sure we were ever going to get it back.”
Zach Skow, founder of Marley’s Mutts, tells me they got an assist from an unlikely source as they were trying to find a way to bring the program back.
In October of 2024, the Kern County Grand Jury released a report about the Wasco State Prison, and in it, they recommended bringing the Pawsitive Change program back to the institution, citing its beneficial outcomes.
“Some of our best dog trainers came out of that program," Skow said.
People like Oscar Rodriguez and Nhut Vo who after they were released from Wasco State Prison became professional dog trainers thanks to the experience they got in Pawsitive Change.
“It is a truly wonderful thing to watch somebody come out of a place of such darkness and such hopelessness to be contributing to a part of our society that truly needs them,” said Skow.
Now, nearly two years after the Grand Jury filed that report, Marley’s Mutts is taking the next step to revive the Wasco program, but it does require significant support from the community.
“So what it means for us is that we have to raise a considerable amount of money in order to execute this program because–the grant that we received [from the Grand Jury] is an invoice program, right? So we only get reimbursed once the invoices go through, which usually takes 2 to 3 months,” Skow said. “So essentially over the next month, we're going to be trying to raise $40,000."
I asked Skow where that $40,000 will go once the goal is hopefully reached.
"It's a very inclusive program that involves so much more than just training dogs," Skow said. "We have to pay for our trainers. We have to pay for all the supplies; we have to pay for gas to get up there, dog food, vaccinations, and veterinary care for basically 8 to 10 dogs to go through 3 rounds at that institution per year.”
Skow said this program has had more success than just the two men we mentioned earlier. He tells me the team looked at the recidivism rate of Pawsitive Change graduates, and it was 0%. Meaning, he says, none of the men who have successfully completed the program have re-offended upon their release from prison.
“What we're trying to do is offer a hand up and out for those individuals who are trying to better themselves," Skow said. "There are so many guys that are locked up and incarcerated that don't have access to hope and opportunity. Without hope or opportunity, you are a risk. You have nothing to lose. With hope and opportunity, you can really find that groove and become the person you were always meant to be.”
The Marley's Mutts team is actively fundraising to try and reach that $40,000 goal. If you would like to learn more about Pawsitive Change or make a donation, visit their website here.
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