Project Pooch Founder Stepping Down as Executive Director

Twenty-three years after starting Project Pooch, Joan Dalton is ready for a change of pace.

She was Vice Principal at the high school at the MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility when she wondered what would happen if youth were given the opportunity to help train and prepare shelter dogs for adoption.

Her feeling was that as they worked at helping the dogs, they would be helping themselves.

She started with one dog and one felon. And she discovered success.

Now, scores of dogs and scores of youth later, she is stepping back from the day to day to focus on working directly with the kids and the dogs and pursuing some other projects.

"There is a long line of people who will want to line up and shake her hand," says Mark Fagerstrom who is taking over as executive director. "The great thing is she will be still around, not really retiring,

"I mean, how can someone with energy and drive like that fully retire?"

Project Pooch is the only program of its type at a juvenile correctional facility in the country.