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

...win-win-win situation: It's good for the dogs, often adopted from shelters where they'd otherwise be killed. It's good for the disabled, who experience a new world of freedom with the dogs at their side. And it can forever change the lives of the inmates. ("Inmates Learning," 2000, p. A2)

The article cites the following inmate testimony: "I've learned responsibility. I know now it depends on me to change my life...Doing this has given me some self-esteem. This is something I can do" (p. A2). According to this source, the program participants' recidivism rate over three years was zero (although no reference was made how the data was obtained).

A similar dog training program was launched at the Downeast Correctional Facility, a medium-security prison in Maine, in 1999. Puppies donated by breeders spend about a year in training performed by male inmates. After graduation, they are placed with a disabled person in the community by the National Education for Assistance Dogs Services. The program is run by Clara Grover, a full-time guard with a background in training show dogs, who takes the dogs, accompanied by their inmate trainers, into town daily to become accustomed to crowds and noises in the real world. This socialization effect benefits not only the dogs but also the inmates. Cold (2000) suggested that "a year into the program at the Maine prison, there have been two clear results: a decrease in prison tension that surprised even corrections officials and some extraordinary well-trained dogs" (p. B12). She cited the commissioner of the Maine Department of Corrections, Martin Magnusson, to support her findings: "The bonding that the prisoners have with these dogs by caring for them is visible throughout the prison environment. For some inmates, this is their first encounter as a positive role model for the community" (p. B12). The impact of this program on participants appears considerable: "I think totally differently. I have a more positive outlook, and I daily learn to be more patient" (p. B12). In 2000, the program also planned to add dog training and grooming to the vocational classes offered by the institution.

The Prison Pup Program at Bland Correctional Center in Virginia, a medium-security facility, also trains puppies to be used as service dogs. After a year of training, they are turned over to the St. Francis of Assisi Service Dog Foundation in Roanoke for placement. After Hough, the training director at Francis who supervises the program, gave the inmates dog training manuals, she was impressed that all of the inmates had read them cover to cover, twice (Hammack, 2002, p.B16). She pointed out that "puppies raised by inmates seem to learn faster. Not only do the inmates have lots of spare time, but they also crave the companionship a dog can provide behind bars" (p. B16). The article also quotes Marie Suthers-McCabe, a veterinary professor specializing in human-animal interaction who studied the program: "It's a really good character-building exercise because it's an opportunity to give back to society" (p. B16). One of the inmates agreed with her: "It's not about me, really...it's about the dogs and the program and the handicapped people....You feel like you're doing something productive instead of just wasting away." Another inmate stated that "it puts you back in touch with what it means to be a human being" (p. B16).