Humanizing Prisons with Animals: A Closer Look at "Cell Dogs" and Horse Programs in Correctional Institutions

Journal of Correctional Education, Mar 2005 by Deaton, Christiane

What began as a dream for Kathy Quinn, now known as Sister Pauline, laid the foundation for starting over 17 dog training programs in different correctional facilities. Quinn got together with Dr. Leo Bustad, another pioneer in the field of AAT, and they began a dog training program at the Washington Correction Center for Women in Gig Harbor. The reported benefits of this program are numerous: The incarcerated women developed a marketable skill, experienced an increase in self-esteem, and earned college credit. In addition, dogs from the humane society that would otherwise have been killed were trained to become service dogs for people with special needs (Strimple, 2003).

Another pioneer in the field of AAT is Dr. Ron Zaidlicz who began a horse training program at the state penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado, in the late 1970s. The penitentiary had bought three wild mustangs from the Bureau of Land Management but was unable to train them. Zaidlicz's program, even though it had not been intended to teach vocational skills, allowed inmates to learn equine husbandry, from gentling wild horses to treating injuries and illnesses, with some men becoming ferriers. Inmates also learned how to care and trust. As an added benefit, the Department of Corrections made money to support the prison (Strimple, 2003).

A similar initiative, the Wild Mustang Program, operated at the Southern New Mexico Correctional Facility from 1988 to 1992. It began in response to a need to tame and train wild horses in danger of starvation. After the Bureau of Land Management began to remove wild horses from overcrowded public land, it created a partnership with the New Mexico Department of Corrections. Inmates would halter break the mustangs and prepare them to be sold to the general public. Granger and Kogan (2000) concluded that "this program was a win-win situation. The horses were handled humanely, the NMBLM was able to improve its public image, and the correctional facility was able to offer work to its inmates that did not threaten any private industry" (p. 224). In 1992, Gushing and Williams (1995) prepared a comprehensive research study of the Wild Mustang Program which included qualitative and quantitative evidence. The results of this study can be summarized as follows: Subjective assessments revealed that inmates assumed a nurturing role by caring for the mustangs. As a staff member commented:

This program gave them the opportunity to know themselves. They didn't know that they could give affection, and be gentle. They had to be able to give peace to the horse. They had a responsibility to the horse and had to pull these attitudes out of themselves in order to do the job. (p. 101)

In addition, inmates experienced a sense of autonomy by being in charge of their project and accomplishing a common goal. While the corrals were built just outside the facility, not one inmate tried to escape. Another perceived benefit was that inmates worked through and overcame the danger of being near these wild horses: "The inmates would be 'taking the fear out' of themselves at the same time they were 'taking the fear out' of the mustang" (p.102). The local administration stated that inmates developed increased self-esteem and self-confidence. This sense of accomplishment was shared by corrections staff who viewed the program as providing meaningful and productive work.