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Ten University of North Florida students spent 10 days at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in 2019, where they learned about dog behavior, training and care while volunteering with animals. The visit was part of a criminology course on canines in inmate rehabilitation, and its central lesson was that working with dogs requires seeing each animal as an individual—not assuming what it can do based on appearance or breed.
The story was a feature about one class and one Sanctuary visit, not a report on a continuing program or a controlled study. Its value lies in the specific way students encountered animal-care work: through instruction, demonstrations, volunteering and time spent with dogs, including dogs with special needs. Students considered how behavior, health and aptitude shape whether a dog may be suited to a particular kind of work.
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Best Friends Animal Society’s account of the visit, published July 31, 2019, describes what the group did and what students and their professor took from the experience. The reflections offer a window into experiential learning, but they should be read as the observations of participants in this particular course.
What was the UNF course about?
The students came to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary as part of a University of North Florida criminology and criminal justice course titled “The Role of Canines in Inmate Rehabilitation.” Dr. Jennifer Wesely, a criminology professor, designed the course after visiting the Sanctuary herself. UNF awarded her a grant for a transformational learning opportunity course.
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The course connected the role dogs can play in rehabilitation settings with the work involved in assessing and preparing them. Animal behavior consultant Sherry Woodard, whom the 2019 story identifies as the developer and manager of Best Friends’ Canines with Careers program, taught students about how dogs were evaluated and selected for that and other rehabilitation programs, including prison dog training.
The course was selective because there were fewer places than interested students. Best Friends reported that at least 20 students expressed interest, while the course had 10 available spots. Applicants completed applications and interviews; the group that went included one sophomore and a mix of juniors and seniors. Those numbers describe this class in 2019, not a recurring enrollment pattern or a general admissions requirement.
What did students do during the 10-day visit?
The schedule combined learning sessions with direct participation in Sanctuary activities. Students attended presentations and demonstrations, volunteered at Dogtown, visited local Best Friends Network partner organizations, and went on hikes and sleepovers with dogs. This mix mattered because the group was not only hearing descriptions of animal care; it also had opportunities to observe and spend time with dogs in different settings.
Instruction covered dog body language, training and the human-canine bond. Woodard explained how dogs were assessed and selected for career and rehabilitation work. The class therefore encountered a practical question that runs through many roles involving dogs: what is this particular dog suited to do, and what does its behavior communicate in a given situation?
Time with dogs also gave students a chance to notice that behavior is contextual. A dog’s reaction in one setting does not automatically tell a person how it will behave in another, and a label based on breed or color cannot substitute for observing the individual. That is a participant-level lesson reported in the feature, not a formal conclusion tested against a larger group of dogs.
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The itinerary extended beyond the Sanctuary itself. Visits to nearby Network partner organizations exposed students to other local organizations in Best Friends’ network, while the hikes and sleepovers created informal opportunities to spend time with dogs outside a presentation or demonstration. The source does not detail the individual partner visits or provide a day-by-day itinerary, so it would be inaccurate to assign specific activities or outcomes to those parts of the trip.
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The course explored how dogs may be considered for different kinds of work, rather than treating every dog as a fit for the same role. The story identifies examples such as service dogs and search-and-rescue dogs, alongside rehabilitation and prison dog-training programs. It also describes attention to dogs’ health, including mental health, during assessment for training.
That emphasis reframes “special needs” as a question of care and individual suitability. Assessment is not simply a search for a dog that can perform a task; it involves considering the dog’s behavior and well-being alongside the demands of a potential role. A dog may have an aptitude or preference that makes one setting more appropriate than another, and the account does not imply that every dog can or should become a career dog.
Woodard’s 2019 comments put the idea in terms of both animal homelessness and unmet human needs. She said that dogs were dying in shelters because they were homeless while people with psychiatric or physical challenges, search-and-rescue teams, veterans experiencing post-traumatic stress, and children diagnosed with autism might benefit from career dogs. Those are Woodard’s statements in a 2019 feature, not current estimates of need or independent clinical evidence that a particular placement produces a health outcome.
The distinction is important: the story describes a rationale for assessing dogs for possible work, not a guarantee that training or placement is appropriate for every animal or person. It does not provide clinical protocols, placement success rates, or evidence about therapeutic effectiveness. Its account supports a narrower point—that dog health and individual fit were part of the instruction the students received.
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What did students and their professor say they learned?
UNF student Tyler Nagle reflected on the tendency to judge dogs by appearance: “People make judgements about dogs based on breed or color, but all dogs are individuals and (their behavior) can change.” His phrasing captures one of the article’s most practical takeaways: an observer should attend to the dog in front of them and the situation at hand, rather than treating a broad category as a reliable prediction of an individual’s behavior.
That observation does not mean breed or background never matter; the feature does not establish such a rule. Rather, Nagle’s comment cautions against letting breed or color stand in for individual assessment. The story’s focus on body language, training and the human-canine bond similarly points to learning through observation and interaction, rather than assuming that a dog’s abilities or preferences are obvious at a glance.
Wesely said, “It was important for me to share this amazing experience with my students and interesting to see how they all processed it.” She added that she learned about animal behavior and training herself, and that the learning would inform her volunteer work in her local community. Her reflection suggests the course was not presented as a one-way transfer of expertise: the instructor also described carrying learning from the visit into her own community involvement.
For the students, compassion in this setting meant more than feeling sympathy for animals. It involved paying attention to behavior, recognizing that dogs have distinct aptitudes and preferences, and considering their well-being when discussing work they might do. The feature reports reflections and learning experiences; it does not track whether these views changed over time or whether the visit altered participants’ later careers or conduct.
Does the 2019 feature show that the course or program is still available?
No. The feature documents a 10-day visit by one UNF cohort in 2019. It does not establish whether UNF still offers the course, whether the same trip has been repeated, or whether Best Friends’ Canines with Careers program currently operates in the same form.
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That qualification matters because the story describes a specific educational opportunity: it was designed by Wesely, supported by a university grant, and limited to 10 participants. Readers interested in a current class or volunteer opportunity should verify availability directly with the relevant organization or university rather than treating the historical feature as a current listing. The account gives no current application dates, contact details, eligibility rules or program schedule.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How does the Sanctuary story fit Best Friends’ later no-kill goal update?
The student visit was about animal care and career-dog assessment, not an evaluation of Best Friends’ national shelter goals. Still, the organization’s more recent figures provide context for its broader animal-welfare work—and show why the 2025 goal should be described in the past tense.
In its 2025 annual report, Best Friends said it did not fully reach its nationwide no-kill-by-2025 target. The organization reported that 67% of U.S. animal shelters were no-kill in 2025, that 77% of shelters had achieved no-kill at some point since 2016, and that the national save rate was 82% in 2025. It also reported a 60% reduction in dogs and cats killed between 2016 and 2025 and 40 million lives saved by shelters, rescue groups and Best Friends since 2016. These are the organization’s reported figures and time periods, not findings from the UNF course.
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Read on its own terms, the class story is a portrait of a small group learning to observe dogs more thoughtfully and to connect animal care with possible work roles. Its clearest contribution is not proof of a broad outcome, but a concrete example of how instruction and direct contact can prompt students to think about compassion, individual differences and responsible assessment.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Was the UNF visit a scientific study of dog behavior?
No. Best Friends’ feature recounts one class’s activities and the reflections of its participants; it does not describe a controlled study, a comparison group or systematic outcome measurements. It is best read as an educational feature, not research establishing general effects.
Did the students’ visit prove that career dogs improve health?
No. The story reports Woodard’s views about potential benefits for people and organizations, but it does not evaluate clinical outcomes or establish that a specific placement is effective. A potential role and a demonstrated health benefit are different claims.
Can any shelter dog be trained for rehabilitation or service work?
The account does not say that every dog is a candidate. It describes assessment that considers behavior, aptitude and health, including mental health, and emphasizes that dogs may differ in preferences and suitability.
Was Canines with Careers a current program after the story was published?
The 2019 feature identifies Woodard as having developed and managed the program at that time, but the cited later materials do not confirm its current status or scope. The story alone cannot establish whether it continues today.
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