Hagerstown to Host International Assistance Dogs Conference

(TOWSON, MD) –Representatives of service dog organizations from 25 states and Canada will descend on Hagerstown in mid-September thanks in large part to the success of the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS) partnership with America’s VetDogs. The Assistance Dogs International Prison Puppy Trainers’ Conference will be held at the Sleep Inn on Sharpsburg Pike, with all participants also touring Maryland Correctional Institution-Hagerstown (MCI-H) and the Maryland Correctional Training Center (MCTC), two of the four DPSCS prisons with VetDogs.

Maryland was the first state to ensure that incarcerated veterans were a key component of VetDogs, and the first to have a maximum-security prison (WCI in Cumberland) as a participant. The program has turned out more than two dozen service dogs for wounded American veterans and has been a nationally-recognized success story.

Best coverage opportunities for the media are on Wednesday, Sept. 16, when the conference participants tour both MCTC (10 a.m.) and MCIH, and enjoy a graduation of the newest prison puppies from MCI-H (1 p.m.).  Members of the media may receive more detailed conference information by calling the DPSCS Communications Office at the numbers above.