PENDLETON, Ind. — At Pendleton Correctional Facility, there’s a new guy on the job.
“We kind of refer to him as the 'chief wellness officer,'” said warden Dennis Reagle. “He’s on call 24/7 and he’s usually up for it.”
The new furry friend goes by the name "Chance" and his only job is to make people happy. Luckily for him, he’s pretty good at it.
“His job really is just to go around and be a morale boost and a break from the regular day that the staff is having. It gives a chance for people to decompress, destress and love on a dog,” Reagle said.
Before landing his new gig, Chance spent more than 100 days at Greenfield-Hancock Animal Management and was a stray before that.
Then this summer, the team at the Pendleton prison decided to give Chance a chance by bringing him to his forever home.
“We thought it was kind of neat because that’s what we do here, is we give people chances,” Reagle said.
Reagle said Chance stays very busy and lives at the facility with workers 24/7. He loves attention, playing with sticks and looking for birds, which leaves him barely any time to nap.
“It’s a very busy life for a dog, but he seems to be having as much fun as he can,” Reagle said.
Not only does Chance make his new family happy, but they make him happy, too.
Reagle said since Chance is doing so well, they might be interested in getting a second wellness dog in the future.