Foothill Dog Rescue

🐶💡 Sunday Spotlight! 🐶💡

This week, we’re excited to shine a spotlight on one of our Paws on the Block handlers and trainers, Juan!

For those unfamiliar with the program, Paws on the Block is a collaborative foster and training program between Foothill Dog Rescue and Folsom State Prison. Dogs selected for the program live alongside a dedicated team of incarcerated handlers who provide daily care, training, socialization, enrichment, and structure while helping prepare them for successful lives in adoptive homes.

Juan joined Paws on the Block in early 2025. Since joining the program, he has embraced the opportunity to learn, grow, advocate for the dogs in his care, and help others along the way.

Reflecting on his journey, Juan shared:
“When I was 18 years old when I was tried and convicted, and for a long time after that I did not know how to be happy. When I began to reflect, I came to think, ‘my happiest childhood memories were when I spent time with my dog.’ His name was Duke and we were best friends. Hanging out with him in the midst of the chaos that was my life was the happiest time I had ever lived. Since that epiphany I set out on a journey to find that childlike happiness I once knew and missed.”

As Juan continued that journey, he became involved in self-help programming within the institution. Over time, he was asked to help lead self-help groups and support others on their own paths toward growth and healing.

Juan shared:
“I realized that being trusted by the guys in these groups was a big responsibility and that my commitment would make a difference in their healing journey much like others had in mine.”

When Paws on the Block entered his life, it provided an opportunity unlike any he had experienced before.
One of the most special bonds we have observed during Juan’s time in the program was with Nola, our Rottweiler girl. Nola arrived unsure of the world around her and slow to trust. Through patience, consistency, and such a level of understanding, Juan played an instrumental role in helping her build confidence and learn that people could be safe, and show up for her.

That relationship helped reinforce a lesson Juan has come to believe deeply.
“Many of us are like these dogs. We are afraid and misunderstood. We don’t have the words to express ourselves and need someone to advocate for us sometimes.”

Through his experiences with the dogs, Juan says he has learned the importance of empathy, compassion, and community.
“This program has taught me what unconditional love is and the power of having empathy. It has helped me look beyond a troubled past and inspired a responsibility in me to actively involve myself in the betterment of the community.”

Juan also reflected on the impact the dogs have on everyone around them:
“These dogs did not choose to be born or for someone to lose interest in them, but together we can choose to shower them with love and be a part of their journey to finding their fur-ever home.”

He has seen firsthand how the program impacts far more than just the dogs. From the incarcerated population and institutional staff, to the volunteers who enter the facility, adoptive homes, and the broader community following the journeys. He has witnessed how the human-animal bond creates connections, sparks conversations, and brings people together in unexpected ways.

For Juan, Paws on the Block is about more than training dogs. It is about helping them find their voices, advocating for them when they cannot advocate for themselves, and helping prepare them for the families who will one day welcome them home.
“As a Paws On the Block trainer, I seek to share with you a childlike happiness by introducing the next member of your family so that you can take them home and give them the best opportunity to know what it is to be a dog again. I am thankful every day to be able to work with these dogs that will bring such joys to their new families. Thank you for all of your support.”

🐾 A Few Facts About Juan:

🐶 Paws on the Block is the first dog program Juan has participated in during his incarceration.

👥 For a period of time, Paws on the Block had two Juans in the program, earning him the nickname “Wee Juan.”

🎵 We can’t confirm or deny that Juan enjoys listening to Lainey Wilson.

Whether advocating for dogs like Nola, supporting fellow handlers, or helping new participants learn the ropes, Juan consistently shows up ready to help others succeed. Since joining the program, he has taken on a leadership role, mentoring newer participants and helping set an example through patience, compassion, and dedication.

As Juan shared:
“One day Paws On the Block came into the facility with a purpose unlike any other. Here lay a calling not just to care for these dogs, but to advocate, educate my community, and to grow in a way that I could never have expected. As I began to work with my first dog, I saw myself in him in the way that he needed some love and compassion, and he needed someone to be there to translate his barks into words so that others too would have some patience with him.”

Thank you, Juan, for your dedication to the dogs, your commitment to others, and the perspective you bring to the program each and every day. We are fortunate to have you as part of the Paws on the Block team. ❤️🐾