Dog Names Ending in av

A special dog who jumps out of the headlines is Raven, who goes by her nickname Rav. Rav is part of a program inside a Maryland prison, quite an unlikely place to find a dog! However, the program was established to help those in the prison who are serving life sentences have a strong life purpose and also to help retired or disabled veterans. Seems like an unlikely combo but it works!

The program is called America's VetDog and the idea is that prisoners will help train puppies to do everyday tasks and skills that will then, in turn, help disabled veterans who receive the dog. Essentially, the prisoners are training service dogs without the fancy name tag. 

John Saxton is in charge of training Rav and he has formed a strong bond with the pup. Saxton has taught Rav to open a refrigerator, pick up keys and credit cards, retrieve items, turn off the lights and also wheelchair assistance. The everyday tasks seem impressive for a dog to be able to accomplish and Saxton says that these simple things will greatly help whichever veteran is lucky enough to adopt Rav. 

Rav is the fourth dog that Saxton has trained and he says that the program has brought meaning to his life. The fact that he is able to do something worthwhile while behind bars is fantastic. Rav is with Saxton all day and night, never leaving his side - a companionship that is impossible to find elsewhere behind prison bars. On the weekends, the pups in the program are taken out of the prison with volunteers where they practice their skills in new settings. The dogs go to churches, grocery shopping, parks and anywhere a veteran may want to go!

When Rav graduates from the program, she will be donated to a veteran free of charge to help change their life for the better. The America's VetDog program helps a lot of people in various ways and also gives a dog like Rav the opportunity to make a difference!