Like many other children with Asperger's syndrome, Zachary Tucker had a hard time getting along with other children. He refused to let anyone touch him and would often break down during school.
After doing all they could, his parents, Arthur and Susy Tucker, turned to an unlikely source to help their son: an inmate.
The Tuckers sent their son to a Colorado prison where he’d work with a convicted murderer named Chris Vogt. In 1998, Vogt was charged with second-degree murder and given a 48-year sentence.
It might sound unusual, but Vogt is one of many inmates around the nation who is using their time in prison for a positive cause, just like Charles Couch, who is serving a life sentence for murder.
Vogt is working with a program called Colorado Cell Dogs, which we introduced you to before while sharing the tearjerking documentary Saving Castaways. The program teaches inmates to train local shelter dogs to be service animals for the deaf and blind. On his own, however, Vogt read books that also gave him the knowledge to train dogs for autistic children like Zachary.
While we see Zachary interacting with the dog Vogt trained below, we also see the boy's impressive progress, especially at the 1:35 mark.
"This is thing I get to do that gives back," Vogt said while fighting back tears. "Like Zach, and even all the kids, when they come in and work with me, they don't get to see the murderer no more.”
Watch below and please SHARE to not only show the power of a service dog, but to also acknowledge these inmates who are turning their lives around.
