The Travis County Jail has ventured into a new project -- adopting guide dogs for training, and inmates are in charge. The jail is the first one in the county to take on such a project.

The dogs the inmates are training come from Guide Dogs of Texas, Inc. The jail got its first dog -- a black Labrador named Zeke -- on Monday.

Zeke is still a puppy, just 15-months-old. He lives at the jail now with two inmates and is under the supervision of a corrections officer.

While he’s there, the inmates will teach Zeke basic obedience lessons. Afterward, Zeke will likely go into formal guide dog training and may eventually live in a permanent home with the visually impaired.

The inmates who work with Zeke say the project is helping them, too.

"I'm not just here to help him learn -- he's here to help me learn, too, in the process. As you put it, it just... I got a thrill and excitement of Zeke being here. I know I ain't doing it for myself. I'm doing it for the visually impaired. That's what motivates me to do good and how to keep on encouraging myself to do it everyday," said Andrew Silva, one of Zeke’s inmate trainers.

Inmates like Silva are only eligible to work with the dogs in this program if they are non-violent offenders.

"A lot of these guys that will be coming in, the inmates, haven't had a whole lot of family exposure, good family exposure. We're hoping working with Zeke and the other dogs will help them get attached and learn how to care," said Sandra Mullins, corrections officer.

Both of Zeke's current trainers have a three-month sentence to serve at the Travis County Jail. By that time Zeke’s training will likely be complete. The jail expects to have more dogs by that time. It will likely receive its first puppy by November.

Since there could be extra expenses for the jail with this program, Guide Dogs of Texas, Inc. says it will cover those costs, including kennels, dog food and any veterinarian visits that may arise.

Travis County received approval for this program last year when commissioners signed the agreement with Guide Dogs of Texas, Inc.

The organization has been running similar programs with prisons since 2000. It has never had any reported problems.