New program for Maricopa County shelter dogs

Maricopa County Animal Care and Control is adopting a new program to help shelter dogs, which will allow them to get out of their kennels, and actually play outside.

The program is called "Dogs Playing For Life", and it aims to teach animals how to behave in an appealing way, to attract volunteers and potential adopters. The MCACC is the first shelter in Arizona to go through the program.

The program teaches shelter staff and volunteers how to implement play groups for shelter dogs.

"We do 3.5-hour classroom session of just going over nitty-gritty details of what we're going to be doing," said Kodi Sadler.

The ultimate goal is to give dogs an opportunity to escape the stresses of their kennels.

"So, we can tire them out, de-stress them a little, send them back to their kennels tired, get a drink of water, fall asleep, so they're more presentable and look more adoptable to the public," said Sadler.