My hero is a Golden Retriever named Pax. He was born in California and now lives in the state of Maine. He was donated to be a public relations dog for the Prison Dog Project of Pathways To Hope.

His registered name is Cinnabar's Peacemaker and he has two obedience titles: CDX, which means Companion Dog Excellent, and TD, which means he is a certified Tracking Dog.

Pax goes into prisons and visits the inmates and the guards. He helps us show the inmates how they can raise and train a dog to help the disabled. He helps break down hard hearts. He makes people laugh. He delights the guards, staff and inmates by opening doors, turning on lights and doing other tasks that make a handicapped person's life more comfortable.

Pax also helps people learn how to care for dogs. Dogs love us unconditionally, so we have to remember that they depend on us to care for them properly, which means feeding them on time, keeping them groomed, and cleaning up after them when taking them for walks. It is especially important to obedience train dogs so they will be good citizens.

Pax lives in the woods of Maine where he loves to run and play, but he also travels to many places. He even travelled on a plane to Rome. He visits children in schools. He is always happy and greets everyone with great joy, not caring who they are are or what they have done in their life. He sees people as friends. Because he has not experienced abuse or neglect, he sees the world much differently than we might see it.

You can see many more pictures of Pax on my web page, Pathways To Hope. Just click on "Prison Dog Project."

Thank you for letting me share about my hero, Pax, an extraordinary dog whose mission in life is to be a peacemaker.