Giving Pets And People A ‘New Leash On Life’ Plus Meet Donna, A Graduate Of This Lifesaving Prison Dog Program
Angela Marcus interviews her longtime friend and former colleague, Rob Rosa. Rob is the Associate Vice President of Prison Programs for New Leash on Life, one of the country’s most unique prison-dog training programs. Their program is dedicated to improving the life of inmates and saving the lives of dogs. By pairing these two unlikely groups, they are saving the lives of at-risk shelter dogs by training prison inmates to care for them and socialize them to enhance their adoptability.
Inmates attend workshops on life skills and job readiness, and many receive opportunities for paid internships in the animal care field when they are paroled. Rob also shares his personal story - one that led him to devote his life to improving the lives of these often-overlooked pets and people. Tune in to hear all about this lifesaving program and “meet” Donna, one of the programs recent graduates who is now looking for a home.
BIO:
Norberto ‘Rob’ Rosa, Associate Vice President
A native to Philadelphia, PA with a proven track record in animal rescue, Rob’s career began in 2002 at the State Correctional Institution at Graterford (SCIG). Working 1800 acre of farmland, his responsibilities included caring for 38 heifer cows and rescue horses. Rob also volunteered his services to a prison puppy program, Canine Partners for Life (CPL), where he learn how to train full service dogs. In early 2005 after being paroled, Rob was employed by CPL as the Assistant to the Executive Director. At CPL, Rob assisted in overseeing and developing programs, public speaking, fundraising, dog training, counseling, and working with clients during team training. Rob assisted the organization to achieve a successful accreditation from ADI.
In mid-2005 Rob was recruited by PACCA (Philadelphia Animal Care and Control) as a Kennel Attendant, and he quickly worked his way up to become the Shelter Manager, where he was responsible for over 30,000 animals that came through the city shelter annually and over 50 staff members responsible for the animals. This experience drove his dedication to placing homeless animals in forever homes.
In late 2008, Rob was recruited by AWA (Animal Welfare Association) in Voorhees, NJ, where he worked as a Kennel Attendant. Within months he was promoted to Shelter Supervisor; his responsibilities included maintaining disease control and evaluating dogs and cats, counseling potential adopters, placing hundreds of animals in forever homes, educating and offering low cost spay and neuter opportunities, and providing resources to low income families in Camden, NJ.
In late 2009 Rob was recruited as the Assistant Shelter Manager and was later promoted to Shelter Manager for ACCT. During his time at ACCT Rob was responsible for over 34,000 animals and over 50+ staff members and volunteers. Rob implemented cleaning protocols for the purpose of disease control, maintaining the health of the hundreds of animals under his care, and he dedicated himself to working on public outreach and working alongside a team of managers to create a successful adoption program to place thousands of animals in homes per year.
Today, Rob helps provide second chances to inmates and at-risk shelter dogs as Associate Vice President of Operations for New Leash on Life USA, a new generation prison dog-training program.