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Shawanda Jackson never wanted to be a mother, and Bedford Hills Penitentiary is no place to raise a family. But her life begins to change when she is assigned to the Puppies Behind Bars program, where she trains puppies that will go on to become bomb-detecting canines. The Labs melt the armor around her heart, but when she is paroled and confronted by the harsh realities of the streets, Shawanda must decide between her criminal past or the promise of a better future. The problem is, no one in her life understands her—or the bonds that form between dogs and the people that love them.

PARTS PER MILLION is a true-crime thriller that tells the story of four federal bomb dogs, their handlers, and the woman who raised them in prison. We follow the paths of each of the puppies raised and cared for by Shawanda as they go on assignment at the ATF, along the Mexico border, in an active warzone in Afghanistan, and on the mean streets of the Bronx. Each handler is confronted with the challenges of life, relationships, and the complex job of finding explosives and catching criminals, but it is the love that Shawanda instilled in each of the dogs that helps our handlers overcome the odds.

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