Our Mission
Magic City K9 is a vocational prison dog training program in Miami, FL. The dogs in our training program live full time at Everglades Correctional Institute with their inmate trainers who provide our Miami and Florida community with trained dogs.
Our goal is to produce not only wonderfully trained dogs who will thrive as family companions, but to empower the men in our program to pursue entreprenuership in the pet industry, specifically as professional dog trainers upon their release.
Our training program is available to any rescue or shelter dog who is currently under the care of a 501c3 non profit dog rescue organization. To enroll a rescue or shelter dog in training with us, please email info@magiccityk9.org.
Helping Rescue/Shelter Dogs
We believe that everyone deserves a second chance. From the inmates who are selected to work with our dogs to the dogs themselves, there’s nothing we can’t accomplish when we put our time, energy and resources into training dogs that were otherwise deemed “unadoptalbe”.
MCK9 originally started out as a dog rescue + training program, however, after a decade of running a dual program we decided to focus on helping our fellow rescuers by providing our dog training services to other 501c3 dog rescue/shelter groups. We do not train dogs for the public. We do do not take in owner surrenders. We are not a dog rescue! We are a dog training program that helps support the mission of rescues and shelters.
Due to the nature of our program and contract with Florida Department of Corrections we can only accept healthy animals with no known behavior issues. Dogs must be up to date on vaccines, spayed/neutered and free of parasites before entering our program.
Training
The training each dog receives covers a wide range of behaviors. First, the program is an intensive socialization program. The dogs learn to be around and greet many different types of people and dogs. As you can imagine, since the dogs “home” is a men’s correctional institute, the dogs get a lot of exposure to men!
Our first goal with all our dogs is to ensure they can all pass the AKC’s Canine Good Citizen exam for things like sit, sit-stay, down, down-stay, come when called, heeling on lead, waiting at doorways, not jumping on people and going to their kennel or bed on command.
Dogs that excel at their foundations program go on to earn their advanced CGC training, trick dog training, and often times competition level obedience. Our guys and dogs also work on handling and husbandry behaviors to help dogs learn how to behave for routine grooming or veterinary care.
All dogs will spend 8 weeks in training. If we were to put a dollar amount on how much training each dog receives, it would be somewhere in the ball park of $8,000-$10,000. It’s a labor of love, and you have a the inmates to thank for their hard work day in, and out. The dog training instructor resopnsible for teaching the inmates how to train dogs has 20 years of experience in canine behavior and training.
Service Dogs
With the versatility of training our inmate trainers and handlers can accomplish, we’re able to produce the following types of working dogs for our 501c3 partners:
- Autism dogs for children with autism
- PTSD dogs for combat veterans
- Mobility assistance dogs for those who are in a wheelchair
- Working dogs for detection, like narcotics
Plesae note that we DO NOT adopt out “service dogs” to the general public. We partner with other registered 501c3 organizations who would us to help their organization get training started.
If you are the end user looking for a service dog you should look into Assitance Dogs Internatioal to find a reputable service dog provider in your area. It is NOT advisable to train your own dog which you already own as a service dog.
Housing and Care
All of our canines live with their inmate trainers and handlers inside of the prison. We have 14 dogs in our program at any given time. The inmates who have been selected by the institution to participate in our program have shown exemplary behavior during their own rehabilitation programs while incarcerated.
You have never seen a more dedicated, compassionate and motivated group of men!
All of our dogs get to spend 24/7 time with their trainers and handlers and even have one housing unit designed just for them. This way, all of the canine training teams can be together under one roof as their own canine community within the prison.
The dogs are allowed to accompany their inmate handlers all over the prison compound once they have completed their basic training.
Prior to entering the prison, every dog receives all of it’s vaccinations and is heart worm tested to ensure the dog is negative for any parasites, including heart worms. The dogs are on monthly heart guard, and receive veterinary care as needed.
Should a dog become injured or ill we remove that animal so that our veterinarian at Sunset Animal Clinic can treat our Magic City K9. Each dog has their own crate, bowls, leash & collar while serving time at Everglades Correctional Institution.
Donate
Magic City K9 is not tax supported. Our support comes strictly from private donations. Our training fee includes the costs we incur paying our instructors annually, hosting graduations and other showcase events for our inmates, as well as education costs for the inmates enrolled in our vocational program.
We hope that people will see the value of what we’re trying to accomplish for the men who participate in our program and the service that we offer at an extreemly low cost to our animal welfare community — so we certainly appreciate those who make larger donations to support our ongoing efforts of saving shelter dogs and helping people.
These men WILL re-enter society, so it’s duty to make sure that we give them the best possible chance to have a positive outcome as members of our community. Just like the dogs!
Family Pets
We understand the hesitation that people feel when adopting a rescue dog with little no background behavioral history on that animal.
- What if the dog isn’t friendly towards children?
- Other dogs?
- Cats?
- Men?
- And so on
When you apply for a family pet through Magic City K9, we’ll do our best to ensure a perfect match based on your lifestyle, family and needs.
We really encourage people to be open minded and to adopt a dog based on that dog’s temperament, not its size, shape, color or sex.
What’s most important in adopting a rescue dog is that the dog will fit into your family and your lifestyle, seamlessly. Before coming into our program all of our dogs have been tested around children, cats, and dogs. All of our dogs have been tested for food aggression, touch sensitivity, reactivity, impulse control, sound sensitivity and temperament.
Thank You to Our Sponsors
A generous thank you, from the bottom of our heart, to the key players who help us do what we do! Without you, we couldn’t make the impact we do.
A special thanks to several of our anonymous donors (you know who you are!), who sponsored a year’s worth of dog food and all fees needed to get our organization up and running in 2017.
You guys are, paws down, the best!
Our Contact Info
All of our dogs live at the prison! We do not have a physical office. We are a network of volunteers.
Send us a WhatsApp message at: 305-281-8340. We do not have a live phone line that gets answered regularly.
Ready to feel the Magic?
You can help save a shelter dog’s life while at the same time feel great knowing you’re helping another person, a human, on their journey towards a positive life change and likely a career in the animal industry. You can help by supporting our program! No donation is too small. Every cent makes a difference.