An "Us and Them" Subculture
Wed, 2007-07-18 19:25 - Kerry
In a world where broken families are defined by death, divorce and adoption, it's easy to understand how a child sees life in terms of Us versus Them thinking and reasoning.
It's been established by social scientists that gang-activity is related to personal identification with a longing need for "family protection". In fact, more often than not, kids joining gangs are looking for a sense of family unity, and personal value. They are finding it among those who know what it's like to come from a broken or violent familiy.
According to the article, "Gang Mentality: Is recent school violence a flashback to 1970s street gangs? Or is it something more dangerous?", author Doron Taussig notes: "the city may be witnessing the birth of a new creature: a hybrid culture that combines the names and neighborhoods of local '70s gangs with the drugs, violence and nihilism of the 21st-century hip-hop world. The result is that "group identity" is becoming one more reason for young people to fight and kill one another." Further into the article, a former gang-member tries to explain the interest in gang-activity, and why people join gangs for protection. His quote reads, "This is a sad irony...It's safety, really. Every day somebody get rolled on. So if you get rolled on, you can call somebody."
Hunt or be hunted; kill or be killed. That's the legacy "Family-life" and failed social-services is teaching our nation's kids, teens and soon-to-be parents to a new generation of foster-babies.
As an adult, (adoptee, former foster-child, or otherwise), how many can relate to the childish need for love, acceptance, loyalty and protection?
People may read our pages and wonder, "Why is PPL so interested in Pup-related Prison Programs?"
I believe the following report explains it far better than I ever could.
Tuesday, September 5, 2006
K-STATE SOCIOLOGY PROFESSOR FINDS DOG TRAINING PROGRAMS IN KANSAS PRISONS ARE BENEFICIAL TO BOTH INMATES AND STAFF
http://www.k-state.edu/media/WEB/News/NewsReleases/Britton90506.html
MANHATTAN -- One of the most beneficial programs in Kansas prisons costs taxpayers virtually nothing and relies on four-legged volunteers.
That's what a Kansas State University professor learned through researching three dog training programs at two Kansas correctional institutions. The Kansas Department of Corrections asked Dana Britton, associate professor of sociology at K-State, to look at a program at the Ellsworth Correctional Facility for men and two programs at the Topeka Correctional Facility for women.
Britton was assisted by Andrea Button, K-State graduate student in sociology, Manhattan.
At Ellsworth, inmates work with Canine Assistance Rehabilitation Education and Services Inc. to teach commands to assistance dogs that might become therapy dogs, hearing assistance dogs or dogs for people who have seizures. At Topeka, women in medium and maximum security participate in the Blue Ribbon dog program. Dogs that otherwise would be euthanized come from the Helping Hands Humane Society to the prison. Inmates spend six weeks to eight weeks teaching basic commands like "sit" and "stay" before dogs are adopted by people in the community. Other women in the facility work with Kansas Specialty Dog Service Inc. to train assistance dogs on a volunteer basis.
The men at Ellsworth and the Topeka women in the Blue Ribbon program are paid a maximum of $1.05 per day, as they would be for other prison work.
Although programs like these that bring dogs into prisons are widespread -- more than 150 in the United States and others in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Italy -- Britton said there previously wasn't much information about what exactly the programs do. So she interviewed male and female inmates, prison administrators, program volunteers and the people who own the dogs after the animals have completed the programs.
Britton said she found plenty of evidence that the programs are beneficial. For one thing, the programs seem to decrease disciplinary infractions because inmates have to be free of disciplinary reports to participate, and they lose their dogs if they violate prison policies.
"To lose a dog, that's a pretty serious disincentive for a prison inmate," Britton said.
Having interaction with the dogs also seems to improve inmates' mental health, especially among the women. Some women reported becoming less reliant on antidepressants because of their work with the dogs. Britton said this aspect of the dog programs seems particularly promising, considering women in prison are three times more likely than men in prison to be prescribed psychotropic medications. Men in prison benefited emotionally, too, reporting that working with the dogs helped them to control their anger and learn more patience, Britton said.
Britton also said she found evidence of improved relationships between inmates and staff because of the dog training programs.
"Prison has an 'us and them' subculture," said Britton, who has done extensive research on prisons. "But it's hard for anyone to walk past a puppy and not pet it."
The programs also have the ability to connect inmates and the outside community. Britton said she attended a graduation ceremony at the Ellsworth facility were male inmates were able to meet the people receiving the assistance dogs they trained. As a result, many of the recipients' attitudes about prison changed, Britton said.
"The graduation is a powerful experience," Britton said. "The guys were able to tell their stories, and the people were able to talk about what the dogs will do for them."
According to Britton, dog training programs in prisons don't rely on taxpayer money except for the programs that pay wages -- but inmates would earn wages for other types of work around the prison anyway. The dog food usually is donated, and inmates sometimes organize fundraisers for the programs. The trainers who instruct inmates on training the dogs are volunteers, whereas dog training in the private sector can be very expensive.
"These dogs do amazing things," Britton said. "People in the community are able to get them free or at a reduced cost. I think the programs have an amazing effect. They're all run on a shoestring budget. The bottom line is these programs are enormously beneficial. They are a win-win situation for the prison and for the community."
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Pound Puppies
The Rehabilitative Uses of Dogs in Correctional Facilities By Todd Harkrader, Tod W. Burke and Stephen S. Owen
The Roots of Animal Therapy
The rehabilitative use of animals is not a new concept in today's medical and psychological fields. Florence Nightingale noted more than a century ago that patients suffering from long hospital stays relished the compassion and friendship that a pet could provide. One of the earliest accounts of pets being used for therapeutic reasons occurred at the York Center in Britain in 1792. However, physicians have just recently fully realized the benefits that animals can provide for patients.
One group that has experienced remarkable success with pets is the elderly. As people become older, they may return to a state of dependency. The elderly often feel as though they are unimportant; however, pets have a tendency to change this belief, providing the elderly with a sense of responsibility and self-importance. When introduced to severely depressed and lonely nursing home patients, pets have had a remarkable effect on the patients' attitudes toward life. Programs have begun to encourage this very response.
In addition, animals have even been shown to assist patients recovering from serious ailments. Having a pet around can lower the blood pressure of heart patients as well as increase the healing process. When studying the survival rates of 92 coronary patients, researchers found that 11 of 29 patients without pets died within a year after hospitalization. However, only three of the 53 who had pets died. Although several variables, such as stress at work and diets, were not accounted for in the researchers' study, there is clearly a correlation between caring for a pet and recovery from coronary ailments.
Animals also have been proved to have a profound effect on juvenile delinquents. A program using dogs to impact troubled juveniles called Project POOCH (positive Opportunities- Obvious Change With Hounds) began in 1993 at the MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility in Woodburn, Ore. In Project POOCH, dogs from local humane societies are adopted by juvenile offenders. With the assistance of a teacher, the juveniles teach the dogs basic obedience skills before the dogs are adopted by families in the community. Staff have noticed that juveniles in the program have fewer referrals to the office, have more patience when interacting with others, demonstrate greater self-esteem and exhibit a higher level of responsibility. It should then come as no surprise that if dogs can have the aforementioned effects on the elderly, physically ill and juveniles, they could also have a strong impact on all types of inmates.
Puppies in Prisons
Three types of assistance dog training have become prevalent in correctional facilities seeking to implement rehabilitation programs - guide dog, hearing dog and service dog training. Guide dogs are used to aid the visually impaired, such as individuals who are blind or partially blind; hearing dogs provide aid to the deaf and hearing impaired; and service dogs provide assistance to individuals suffering from physical disabilities that restrict or impair movement such as individuals who are partially paralyzed or prone to seizures. In addition, there are programs, such as Nevada's Pups Up for Parole, which, like many programs of its type, take animals who would otherwise be euthanized and give them to inmates, who train them in basic obedience skills so they will be more adoptable by families.
According to Inmates Find Calm in Training Dogs," by Donna Gold, the concept of placing dogs in prisons with inmates came from Sister Pauline Quinn, a Dominican nun who established the first inmate dog-training program in Washington in 1981 to help spread the joy of dogs to inmates. Her brainchild has spawned numerous programs in prisons to train dogs to help people with all types of disabilities.
The concept of inmate dog-training programs is relatively new on the East Coast, but has already found success at the Downeast Correctional Facility, a medium-security prison in Maine. After one year, those involved noticed a decrease in tension throughout the prison and that inmates produced exceptionally well-trained dogs, a result that may be linked to the amount of time that inmates can devote to the dogs. Employees of private assistance dog programs simply cannot devote the same amount of time to training puppies as inmates can. After spending approximately one year with the inmates, the dogs that pass the initial tests then advance to rigorous service dog training with NEADS, the National Education for Assistance Dog Services. Although reluctant at first to have inmates training dogs, NEADS Executive Director Sheila O'Brien has come to realize the high level of attention and instruction that the dogs receive from inmates. The partnership between NEADS and the prison puppy program was so strong that of a recent graduating class of 53 dogs, more than half had received their initial training from inmates, Gold reported.
One of the most recent and successful inmate dog-training programs is Puppies Behind Bars, founded by Gloria Gilbert Stoga in 1997 in New York. Having heard of such programs in Ohio prisons, Stoga approached several guide dog breeding centers but was met with little to no assistance. To prove that inmates could raise dogs, Stoga took five puppies that initially had been rejected by a guide dog program and gave them to inmates at two separate facilities to be trained. The inmates were so successful in raising the dogs that the guide dog program began providing qualified dogs to the inmates, and Puppies Behind Bars was born. Inmates first learn the basics of dog training, such as housebreaking and grooming, which consist of classes three days a week. After a careful selection phase and classroom instruction, the inmates begin training the dogs.
Puppies Behind Bars has been very successful, with 87 percent of dogs trained by inmates being found fit to move on to more rigorous training, as compared with only 50 percent of those trained by volunteers outside the prison walls. Specially bred and placed in prisons at a very young age, each dog remains at the prison for at least a year, constantly under the supervision of its inmate teacher. Dogs first rejected by official training schools excelled under the attention and compassion exhibited by the inmates. The puppies are usually rotated between correctional facilities to give inmates an opportunity to be apart from the dogs, which lessens the impact on them when the dog completes training and leaves. Dogs involved in Puppies Behind Bars also get weekend trips outside of the prison with volunteer sitters who provide the puppies with the opportunity to see "life on the outside." These weekend trips allow the puppies to continue their socialization into the outside world, as well as expose them to the sights and sounds of everyday life, such as cars, horns, riding in automobiles and moving in traffic, making the dogs more well-rounded.
Bland Correctional Center's Prison Pup Program
A final program that warrants discussion is the Prison Pup Program at Bland Correctional Center in Virginia. The authors observed the program firsthand in March 2003. Emma Eaton is the prison counselor and puppy coordinator at Bland and is the program's main supervisor. The program began after a local service dog foundation, Saint Francis of Assisi, approached the Virginia Department of Corrections in hopes of starting a prison puppy program at the facility. After careful planning and development, the first service dog program in Virginia prisons began in June 2002.
Based on prison puppy programs in Ohio, the relatively young program at Bland had no major problems during its first year of operation. Only honor inmates (those who have had no infractions during their terms) are allowed to work with the dogs. Each inmate is interviewed by Eaton and screened for a history of domestic abuse. Inmates with a history of violence against animals are immediately disqualified. Inmates with longer sentences are preferred for the program due to the extensive training that inmates must receive before working with a puppy. They also are paid 35 cents per hour for their work with the puppies, a salary that is in the higher bracket of money earned by inmates. Inmates participating in the Prison Pup Program live in a special honors dorm that is separated from the rest of the prison population. This allows for inmate trainers to spend every minute of the day with their puppy.
Eaton believes that, to date, the Prison Pup Program has been a 100 percent success. This sentiment is shared by the facility's inmates and staff as well. Eaton began to notice immediate changes in the inmates after they began working with the puppies. She noted that inmates in the program work much better with one another, have improved their social skills and have a newfound sense of responsibility. They also have learned trust, how to care for someone other than themselves and how to work as a part of a training team. Despite a great deal of skepticism at first on the part of prison staff, the entire facility has benefited from the introduction of the program. Correctional officers and administrators alike note that there has been a noticeable increase in the morale of inmates and employees in the facility. Inmates often walk by the building housing the program in hopes of catching a glimpse of the puppies. The puppies often exercise in the main quad of the facility and inmates in the general population are welcome to pet the puppies when they are not in training (after asking the handler for permission). When training, the puppies wear vests that alert inmates that the puppies are "working" and are not to be bothered. They are clearly a tremendous source of - pride for the institution. Each inmate knows the name of every puppy and the entire inmate population enjoys receiving updates regarding the puppies' training.
The program also has received a great deal of attention and support from the community. Several volunteers outside the prison serve as "chaperones" for the puppies during weekend furloughs. All outside handlers undergo background checks to ensure that they are fit to care for a puppy, and correctional officers search all returning puppies to make sure that no one has tried to use a puppy to smuggle contraband into the prison. The prison also receives assistance from Saint Francis of Assisi. Through funding from Carillon (a local health care provider), Saint Francis of Assisi supplies all food, towels and training equipment that the puppies will need in the prison. Its staff are also responsible for taking the puppies to the veterinarian for shots. The inmates are solely responsible for bathing and grooming their puppies. Fortunately, Bland was able to use space in the facility for the program and did not have to add any additional buildings, which was one of the main reasons that the prison was selected for the program.
Inmates begin training for the Prison Pup Program by participating in classroom instruction and reading numerous instructional manuals provided by Saint Francis of Assisi. The inmates also rely heavily on one another to solve problems that they have with their dogs during training. Although each dog has a primary trainer, all the inmate trainers play an integral role in training each of the puppies. The older, more experienced inmates run most of the handlers' classroom sessions and serve as tutors and mentors to the less experienced inmates. During classroom instruction observed by the authors, inmates conducted a class about particular problems they were having with their puppies. Problems that were addressed included socialization, bite inhibitions, house training, crate training (the process of teaching a puppy to sleep in a crate) and leash walking. Three older inmates conducted most of the class for six new inmates who were learning to train their own puppies. On average, the program has six to eight inmates and four to six puppies. As of this writing, there are 10 inmate trainers and six puppies.
Training assistance dogs is a very sophisticated and complex enterprise. During training, the older puppies (the oldest are 10 months old; the youngest are 3 months old) respond to the commands of sit, stand, come, pick up keys and pick up leash. Some of the puppies can even retrieve various objects when prompted only by a verbal command as opposed to solely a hand signal, as well as turn lights on or off.
At the conclusion of the classroom instruction, each inmate has the opportunity to discuss the impact the puppies have had on their lives during their time at Bland. One inmate noted that working with the puppies has helped him develop patience working and interacting with other people, while also reducing the amount of stress that he has experienced since entering prison. Another inmate said that the program has "brought sunshine and laughter" into the compound and has helped him eliminate negative thinking and to deal with the emotions that arise when in prison. Another described the Prison Pup Program as "an awakening experience" that reinforces positive interaction with others. He noted that one of the best program rewards is that "as the puppies improve, you improve yourself as well." The most telling remarks about the program were made by two inmates who agreed that traditional programs do not come close to the rehabilitative effects of the Prison Pup Program. Alcoholics Anonymous, anger management and drug rehabilitation programs did not help one of the men with his problems, but the Prison Pup Program is "keeping him clean," and he hopes that this positive impact on his life will continue upon his release from prison. It is clear that this program truly is impacting the lives of all involved and that it is having an incredible effect on the inmate trainers. Eaton noted that the program has been an excellent experience for the inmate handlers and that it is the best program that Virginia has introduced in years.
Benefits for Inmates and Correctional Facilties
One of the many benefits of successful inmate dog-training programs includes the excellent public relations that occurs in the community. These programs give the community an opportunity to see inmates doing good deeds. Nancy Bouchard, former assistant commissioner of the Maine DOC, told the Blethen Main Newspapers that inmate dog training programs give inmates the "opportunity to look outside themselves and learn how to give selflessly." While the impact of inmate dog-training programs on recidivism has not been formally studied, such a transformation in an inmate provides an excellent opportunity for self-reflection and serves as a powerful motivator to move on with one's life and succeed on the outside upon release from prison.
According to the Prison Dog Project Web site, inmates "learn responsibility, patience, tolerance, as well as being good trainers with kindness and love" and the dogs serve as "a bridge between the inmates and the guards" and they help to bring an overall "sense of calm in the institutional setting." Such was the case at the Joseph Harp Correctional Center, a medium-security institution in Lexington, Okla. Two benefits of the program were a reduction in the number of aggressive incidents in the prison and a marked change in chronically depressed and reclusive inmates. Prison officials examined the effects of the puppies on their mental health unit by counting the number of aggressive incidents four months prior to the puppies' arrival to the prison and comparing that to the number of aggressive incidents four months after the program was instituted. According to the 1991 Corrections Today article, "Pet Therapy: Program Lifts Spirits, Reduces Violence in Institution's Mental Health Unit," by Marcia Haynes, there was a total of 68 aggressive incidents in the four months prior to the puppies' arrival, 12 of which were physical altercations. There were only 39 aggressive incidents four months after the puppies' arrival in the prison, with only six involving physical altercations. This represents a 43 percent decrease in the total number of aggressive incidents. Although prison staff noted that a new psychologist hired during the time of the study had been beneficial to the inmates in the facility, the article states that they could not deny that the puppies had a profound impact on lowering levels of aggression in the prison.
A final point of discussion is the benefits that prison puppy programs can provide for inmates seeking employment after they complete their time in prison. Aside from the basic dog-training skills they learn, inmates can learn more advanced skills and seek employment outside of prison working with animals. After working with puppies at the Coleman Federal Correctional Complex in Florida, one inmate serving 16 months for bank fraud earned a certificate in veterinarian assistance and intends to earn her two-year veterinary technician certificate after her release. With such overwhelming evidence of its success, it is clear that a well-run inmate dog-training program can be a beneficial experience for inmates, correctional institutions and society as a whole.
What to Consider
Although prison puppy programs have been very successful, there are several considerations that must be evaluated before implementing an inmate dog-training program in a prison. One overwhelming consideration that was apparent in all the successful programs reviewed for this article was support from both the community and local dogtraining schools. Prison administrators have to be able to convince a dog-training school that the prison is prepared for training dogs and that it has facilities to conduct the training, and coordinate with the schools to get professionals to teach the inmates how to properly train puppies. Prison administrators also need to show that their facility contains responsible inmates who want to give back to the community and are sincere in their desire to work with puppies. Along with this, prisons need to have a strong base of community volunteers who will care for and keep the puppies for weekend furloughs throughout the puppies' training.
Another important consideration is the physical facility in which the puppies will be located, keeping in mind the puppies' overall welfare. Many prison facilities have special areas designated for puppy training away from the regular prison population. At Bland, puppies stay with inmates in the Honor Building where only the prison's most well-behaved inmates are housed. The Wisconsin Correctional Liberty Dog Program took an existing farm shop on prison grounds and completely remodeled the structure, putting in its place a dogtraining center and kennel. It is imperative that prisons have both adequate facilities and access to veterinary health care for the puppies used in the program.
A very important aspect of inmate dog training that could directly impact the puppies is the selection of inmates who will train them. Animal abuse has been clearly linked to other types of crimes against people, including violent crime and property crime, but even more important as an indicator of family violence. According to the Doris Day Animal Foundation, in abusive relationships, animals can be used as means of control by an abusive husband who threatens harm or death to a family pet if his commands are not met by his wife or children. Therefore, it would stand to reason that prison officials must be extremely careful in selecting inmates to be entrusted with the task of training puppies. Another concern is using puppies to smuggle contraband into a prison facility. Dogs have been used in airports to smuggle cocaine surgically implanted in their bodies by drug dealers, a cause for concern for inmate dog-training programs in which the puppies leave the prison for weekend furloughs. A puppy in the hands of the wrong inmate could be a serious hazard to the welfare of both puppies and the prison population.
Of the programs reviewed, each had a careful screening process to prevent these problems from occurring. In several of the New York programs, inmates undergo a careful screening and interview process to ensure that inmates who committed heinous crimes are not given puppies. Inmates are also required to have at least two years left on their sentences. This is important because it takes a great deal of time for inmates to develop the necessary skills to train a puppy and program administrators like to use the same inmates for several rotations of puppy training, as opposed to training new inmates yearly. In some programs, inmates who had committed violent crimes against people were allowed to train puppies and have done so with great success. It is up to each individual prison to decide which inmates will be allowed to train dogs and those who should be denied the opportunity due to the crimes they committed against society.
Finally, it is important for prisons to consider the funding issues that accompany a program such as Puppies Behind Bars. Aside from an occasional federal grant, prison puppy programs depend heavily on community assistance and donations. Several of the programs studied for this article receive considerable donations of supplies from guide/service dog programs. But more often than not, inmates generate the income for the prison puppy programs through bake sales or selling items manufactured in the prison workshops. Thus, it is readily apparent that in order for a prison puppy program to be successful, it must consider various forms of fund allocations to allow for program implementation and operating costs.
A "Win-Win Situation"
Prison puppy programs around the nation have achieved high levels of success with inmates, correctional facilities and the community. Although questioned at first as a threat to prison security and stability, prison puppy programs have given inmates a renewed purpose in life and have broken the pattern of loneliness and despair that permeate throughout America's prisons. It also provides inmates with excellent training they can use to seek employment once they leave the confines of prisons. More important, disabled, handicapped and elderly Americans are provided with well-trained dogs that facilitate better quality of life that can occur as a result of a disability. Prison puppy programs are a win-win situation for all involved and could very well signal a change in the way in which correctional facilities approach the rehabilitation of inmates in the future.
ENDNOTES
¹Whiteley. H. 1986. The healing power of pets: Nursing homes, hospitals, and even prisons
are going to the dogs, and other animals, to improve the health and moral of patients and
inmates, Saturday Evening Post, Volume 258, October 1986, 22-24.
²Office of the Deputy Commissioner for Women. 1998. Literature review: Pet facilitated
therapy in correctional institutions, Ottawa: Correctional Service Canada.
³Associated Press. 2002. Nev. convicts pay for puppy surgery, Associated Press Online, Nov. 15.
King, S. 2001. Tails of inspiration, Los Angeles Times, Aug. 19. TV Times, p. 3.
Clemence. S. 2002.
Puppies from prison succeed at a dog's toughest job, Columbia News Service, April 3. Available at www.jrn.columbia.edu/studentwork/cns/2002-03-20/262.asp.
_________________________________________________________________
2nd Lt. Todd Harkrader is a military intelligence officer for the U.S. Army. Tod W. Burke, Ph.D., is a professor of criminal justice and Stephen S. Owen, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of criminal justice at Radford University in Radford, VA.
Professional Pride
As a Registered Nurse, I feel the need to address a portion of the above article that made my heart fill with pride.
The Roots of Animal Therapy
http://www.vadoc.virginia.gov/resources/events/aca-poundpuppies.pdf
Florence Nightingale
By the time she was 12, she was determined to "do something worthwhile". She liked books. She enjoyed caring for sick farmers on her father's estate. Once she even saved the life of an old shepherd's dog that had broken its leg.
At the age of 16, she was sure that God was calling her to serve others. She used every spare minute to learn from nursing books she had secretly obtained. She visited hospitals in London and the surrounding area.
Her parents didn't want her working in those "dirty" hospitals, but she was determined. They did many things to try to change her mind. Her sister pretended to have fainting spells. Her mother accused her of being immoral.
She finally reached an agreement with her father. If he would let her go to Kaiserwerth (KI zer wirth) hospital in Germany to study, she wouldn't tell anyone her plans. This way, her family wouldn't have to be "embarrassed" by her actions.
She was an excellent student, and after her graduation, she returned to London and got a job running a hospital.
During the Crimean (cry ME un) War, she was put in charge of nursing. She went to the battlefield with 38 nurses. The hospital was a huge, dirty barracks building. She got men to clean it up and managed to get the supplies they needed.
She carried a lamp as she walked the halls of the battlefield hospital and became known as the "lady with the lamp".
She saved thousands of lives. People called her a ministering angel in the hospitals, but she herself became ill with a disease she got there.
In her later years she was not able to travel, but people came to her from all over the world for her advice.
During the Civil War, the United States asked her advice about setting up military hospitals.
She became known as the founder of modern nursing.
Ohio
I noticed how many of prison pup programs are in Ohio. I found this article about the prison pup programs in Ohio:
Even hardened criminals jump at chance to train,care for canines for Prison Pet Program
November 24, 2006 : 12:00 AM
This prison program is for dogs and for the inmates, too.
Community service option encourages good behavior.
By Rick Armon
(Mike Cardew: photo credit)
He's almost at eye level with the two small dogs in front of him. ``Wave goodbye,'' he says in a sing-song voice to Ernie, a shepherd mix puppy.
Ernie puts his paw in the air, wiggling it up and down. Smith, 36, who's serving time for murder, pulls out a treat as a reward. ``I love dogs. I love the atmosphere of training dogs,'' he says. ``People are harder to work with actually than dogs.''
Smith is one of hundreds of Ohio inmates working with dogs through the state prison system's community service dog programs. Since the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction started allowing inmates at one prison to train dogs in 1991, the program has expanded to 28 state facilities. Today, there are more than 400 dogs living with inmates in Ohio prisons while waiting to be adopted or put into use as service animals for the disabled.
Chihuahuas. Great Danes. Boxers. Collies. Golden retrievers. Mastiffs. Terriers. Eskies. Greyhounds. All kinds of breeds and thousands of dogs have passed through Ohio prisons over the last 15 years.
``It's one of the best programs in our system,'' said Wanda Suber, who oversees the programs statewide for the prison system. ``The dogs have become so popular that they've outdistanced some of the other (community service) things we do.''
Prison officials, inmates, animal groups and a researcher who studied prison dog programs say the programs benefit not only the inmates, but also the prisons and the many abused and abandoned dogs that otherwise would be destroyed. Prisoners are more well-behaved, knowing that any infractions mean they lose their companion. The dogs are therapeutic for inmates struggling with depression or boredom. The animals break down barriers between the staff and prisoners. And the programs provide a positive bridge between the community and institutions.
``Prison administrators have more and more and more inmates and fewer ways to keep them busy and these programs do this and in a more meaningful way than making corrugated boxes or working in the kitchen,'' said Dana Britton, a sociology professor at Kansas State University who studied three dog programs in Kansas prisons.
She estimated that there are more than 150 prison dog programs in the United States, with others in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Italy.
Here's how the programs work in Ohio: An outside agency -- from humane societies to groups that train dogs for the disabled -- hooks up with the prison system and delivers the dogs. At Mansfield Correctional Institution, which has one of the largest programs in the state, that's the Ashland Humane Society and Team Greyhound Adoption of Ohio Inc.
No breeds considered aggressive -- such as pit bulls -- are permitted.
The inmates learn to train the animals. (Sit. Don't poop there. Don't chew up my shower flip-flops. Basic obedience.) The Mansfield inmates attend training classes twice a week. And they care for the dogs until they are adopted. Meanwhile, the dogs sleep in cells with the inmates and follow them everywhere.
When the dogs need to do their business, the inmates take them for walks on the grounds. If the dog needs to go at night when the inmates are locked in their cells, the dog goes in the cell. (The prisons set aside some living quarters for inmates who are allergic to dogs.)
Medical bills are paid by humane societies or other dog groups. Food, leashes, bowls and treats are either donated or purchased by the inmates, so there's no cost to state taxpayers. That leaves little room for public criticism, Britton said.
The mere presence of the dogs has made a major difference in attitudes within the Mansfield facility, said Roma Paulson, who oversees the Mansfield program, which began in 1998.
The dogs have a calming effect on the institution, she said. It's difficult to walk by a puppy and not smile or reach down for a pat on the head -- whether you're a jaded corrections officer or a hardened inmate.
``It's a spark of normalcy (for the inmate),'' Paulson said. ``I can't decide what I eat. I can't decide what I wear. I can't decide where I go. I can't visit with my family, but I can have a dog. And I can have all the love it can give me.''
Because there are a limited number of dogs, there also are a limited number of inmates who serve as trainers. Sex offenders may not participate, and inmates must be free of infractions for at least six months. The waiting list at Mansfield Correctional is several legal pages long. Openings occur mainly because an inmate has been released from prison.
The inmates aren't paid, but the time spent training counts toward community service. The prisoners say they learn responsibility and patience. In some cases, it helps them deal with anger and depression. The dogs also keep inmates occupied so the time goes by faster.
``It gives me a way to express love for another being in a positive manner,'' 42-year-old Scott Rhodes of Akron said during one of the training sessions.
Rhodes, who is serving time for aggravated robbery, enjoys training greyhounds. ``I feel like they've had a hard life and haven't been treated well,'' he said. The inmates develop deep relationships with the dogs. Some have even adopted them after their release.
``One of the things I saw when I came in is guys who are never going home walking up to a dog and completely melting,'' said Andrew Pursley, 36, of Crestline, who's in prison for aggravated robbery and drug possession.
Suber added: ``Dogs will listen. They won't judge you.''
It's also emotional for the inmates when the dogs are adopted and leave their care after spending 24 hours a day with them for six weeks, six months or even longer. About 1,000 dogs have been adopted through Mansfield since the program began there.
``We're talking guys who are murderers and have committed some of the most heinous crimes, and they will cry when their dog leaves,'' Paulson said.
The key is not to get too attached and realize you're training someone else's pet, inmates said. ``I'm happy that they are going home,'' said Scott Smith, 29, of Canal Fulton, who's serving time for engaging in corrupt acts, aggravated robbery and other charges. ``I have to get them ready for the real world.''
John Smith, of Warren, who helps teach other inmates to become trainers at Mansfield, keeps photos of every dog he's trained -- 32 in all. At one time, he had three dogs in his cell, which he shares with another inmate.
``I'm a true dog lover,'' he said. ``I'd prefer to have six dogs and no cellie.''
The dog programs reduce misbehavior by inmates because prisoners must be good to continue serving as trainers. But the lessons learned probably don't reduce recidivism because the dog programs are therapeutic and not treatment, said Shelley Johnson Listwan, an assistant professor in Kent State University's Department of Justice.
``If we're trying to say that having inmates train dogs will reduce the probability of committing crimes in future, that's somewhat naive,'' she said. ``You're not really changing who the inmate is or why he or she got into crime.''
Team Greyhound has about 40 dogs housed at five state prisons. It's difficult to find foster homes for greyhounds making the transition from racing to a family setting, said Janet Buck, vice president of the nonprofit group. The dogs are raised on farms and then shipped to race tracks, so they don't know anything about living in a home.
They need to learn basic obedience and what to do when they encounter such foreign things as stairs and slippery floors. The prison program eases that drastic change, she said.
``A lot of people look for prison-trained dogs because they are trained,'' Buck said. The prison program also is vital for the Ashland County Humane Society, which doesn't have a facility of its own and wouldn't be able to take in dogs without Mansfield Correctional's help.
``We'd be devastated if we lost it,'' said Rhonda Hofer, vice president of the group. The dogs are treated well and it's not stressful for them to be behind bars, prison officials and dog groups said. It's actually less stressful than being in a cage in a pound, they said.
``Where else are they going to get 24-hour service and hundreds of people to love them?'' Paulson asked.
It's more of a transition when the dogs leave prison and find themselves in a home left alone at some point, she said. People who have adopted dogs through the prisons praise the programs.