A new program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill called UNC Paws is harnessing the cuteness of puppies to help improve the lives of people. Puppies are brought to The Farm at Penny Lane in Pittsboro, N.C., where they are socialized for 10 weeks at the Puppy Development Center. Sunny Westerman and her team of volunteers bring the dogs all over, including farmer’s markets, homes for seniors and fire stations. Then the pups are brought to a women’s prison in West Virginia where they are formally trained as service dogs. Once they complete their training they are paired with a veteran suffering from PTSD. Thava Mahadevan, MS, Director of Operations started the farm and puppy program at the UNC Center for Excellence in Community Mental Health, to help people lead more healthy and social lives.
