BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Actress Kristen Bell visited the Marley's Mutts juvenile dog program at the Bakersfield Juvenile Hall on Wednesday.
The program is a sister-program to the Marley's Mutts Pawsitive Change Program, which matches death row dogs with inmates inside California State Prisons.
At Kern County Probation's Juvenile Hall, 23 girls are incarcerated, 5 of those teens are in the Pawsitive Change Program. One of the girls says that having the responsibility of taking care of the dogs each day, reminds her of home.
Bell toured the facility and spent hours learning about the program tat she said tugged at her heart.
"When they decided to start doing it in young female juvenile facilities, I was immediately on board like can I go? Can i learn that you guys are doing? Thankfully they accepted."
For 14 weeks, the teens work alongside a Marley's Mutt trainer, providing them with a safe emotional space where they can build stronger relationships and learn to communicate through the dogs.
