A partnership between Marley's Mutts' Pawsitive Change Program and Mountain Dog Products
@pawsitivechangeprogram · @marleysmutts
Pawsitive Change × Mountain Dog Products
Change a life on both ends of the leash.
Donate a leash to the Pawsitive Change Program. Every leash you give goes to work inside a California prison yard, in the hands of someone earning their way home, on a dog rescued from a euthanasia list.
Donate a Leash · $16
Nothing ships to you. Your leash goes where it's needed.
This is what you're giving: a Mountain Dog leash, hand-built in Phoenix, AZ from retired climbing rope. See the leash ↓
Donate a leash
$16 per leash. Donate one or one hundred.
1
You donate a leash. Nothing ships to you.
2
Each month we tally every donation and ask the program exactly what they need.
3
We build the leashes and deliver them straight to the training yard.
Quantity
Select the donation product in the theme editor to activate this button.
Donation-only orders never pay shipping.
The leash you're giving
Built to outlast the hardest job a leash can have.
Every donated leash is a real Mountain Dog leash, the same ones professional trainers buy from us. Hand-assembled in Phoenix, Arizona from retired UIAA-certified climbing rope, and covered by a lifetime warranty, chewing included. Each month the program tells us which types they need, slip leads or clip leads, and we build exactly that.
Rescue dogs rescuing people
This is more than gear for dogs.
Pawsitive Change pairs rescue dogs with incarcerated students. Your leash works on both ends. In Marley's Mutts' own words: "creating hope and opportunity for incarcerated people and pets so both may find a path home."
01
A dog gets a way out.
Every dog in the program was pulled from a shelter euthanasia list. Many arrive "frightened, abandoned, neglected, or simply out of time." Over a 14-week cycle they're trained, socialized, and loved until they're ready to be adopted into forever homes through Marley's Mutts.
02
A person gets a way forward.
Students apply, write an essay, and interview to earn their place. They train and care for the dogs while building accountability, patience, and a real vocational skill. Graduates have gone on to careers in the pet industry, the recovery field, and helping professions.
03
A yard gets a little more human.
Several students share one dog, working side by side across lines that usually divide a prison yard. The program runs in men's, women's, and juvenile facilities, and right now it's raising support to return to Wasco State Prison.
The number that matters
Your leashes go back into the yard every month.
The graduates almost never go back at all.
Marley's Mutts reports that released graduates of Pawsitive Change almost never return to prison.
“The dogs all had their own struggles, but they rehabilitated me more than I rehabilitated them.”
"Rescued Dogs Rescuing People"
- Founded 2009 · Tehachapi, California
- Pawsitive Change is their flagship prison program, running since 2016
- Graduated dogs are adopted into forever homes through the rescue
- 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
Why we're doing this
We're not the story here.
The students, the dogs, and the people of Marley's Mutts are.
We make leashes in Phoenix, Arizona, hand-assembled from retired climbing rope. Some of our customers are Pawsitive Change alumni. Others volunteer as trainers inside the prisons the program serves. When the program needed leashes, the answer was obvious.
Our job is simply to make sure that when a dog steps onto the yard, there's a leash ready that won't quit on either of them. Every leash we send is covered by our lifetime warranty, chewing included.
Questions
Will I pay shipping?
No. If your order is donation leashes only, nothing ships to you, so there's nothing to charge. If you add a leash for your own dog, standard shipping applies to that item.
What kind of leash gets donated?
Whatever the program needs. Each month we ask what's most useful, slip leads or clip leads, standard or mini, and build exactly that.
Can I donate more than one?
Yes. Set the quantity to whatever feels right. Every single leash gets counted and delivered.
How do I know the leashes arrive?
We do a monthly tally with the program team and hand off directly. Follow @pawsitivechangeprogram for updates from the yard.