Florida jail inmates set to cuddle shelter dogs that are frightened by fireworks on Independence Day

Florida inmates will be pet-sitting during prime fireworks time on Independence Day.

The inmates will cuddle shelter dogs that are frightened by the loud noises and flashes made by the celebratory explosives.

What are the details?

Inmates at Florida's Brevard County Jail will spend the holiday comforting shelter dogs, according to a Saturday Facebook post by Sheriff Wayne Ivey.

The post detailed the program:

Recently a number of our citizens contacted our agency volunteering to help comfort the dogs at our Animal Care Center because of fireworks on Independence Day.

Often times dogs will get anxiety and frightened because of fireworks and other loud noises that can be heard on the 4th of July, so a number of our citizens offered to help us this year by comforting them and trying to keep them calm.

While we greatly appreciate the offer of assistance and truly love the fact that our community partners with us to help our homeless pets, our agency has designed a new program that will not only help our dogs but will also help add purpose to the lives of inmates incarcerated at the Brevard County Jail.

This year inmates on our Chain Gang and other work crews will be comforting our dogs at the Animal Care Center by reading to them, playing with them, and even feeding them treats during the peak hours of celebration on Independence Day.

Our goal is to not only help calm the dogs but also to help build and instill a sense of purpose and compassion in the inmates that will hopefully aid them as they transition back into society once the have served their time.

I want to personally thank everyone who offered to spend their 4th of July evening comforting our homeless pets, as we are truly blessed to have such amazing support from our community!! As I always say..."it takes a community to protect a community" and this post is a perfect example of just how true that statement is!!

According to WOFL-TV, the program was also designed to "help build and instill a sense of purpose and compassion in the inmates that will hopefully aid them as they transition back into society once they have served their time."

At least 15 inmates will participate in the Independence Day program.

"They'll serve the dogs some sorbet," Ivey said. "We have an ice cream maker here in the jail, we use inmate labor, and we give them to the dogs. It's healthy for them. It's not regular ice cream; it's for pets."

He added, "It's a win-win for everybody across the board."

(H/T: People magazine)