I just read an article about another prison running a program in which neglected, abandoned, or abused dogs are assigned to the care of prisoners rather than being housed in shelters. These people foster the animals, caring for them, training them, and teaching them to trust humans again. Eventually the dogs are ready to move on, into loving adoptive families.
There is a corollary to the successful rehabilitation of the dogs. The prisoners, many of whom are felons due, in great part, to the fact that they, too, grew up neglected, abandoned, or abused, have a revival of their compassion and sense of responsibility. In that way, they are being rehabilitated, just like their waggly wards. Isn’t that what the prison system is supposed to do? Many of these individuals, once released, find jobs in dog grooming, training, and care. Others have refreshed their work ethic and determination to find and do well at a job.
The Pups on Parole programs at any prison is small (maybe 20 pup/prisoner teams) but effective. Unlike others, I don’t consider this being soft on crime. Rather, I think it’s taking what is good in a person who has done bad and putting it to a use that is beneficial to our animal friends while giving him or her a fighting chance to reintegrate into society rather than reoffending. I, for one, think that’s a good thing.
For more information on Pups on Parole, go to http://www.hcws.org/programs/pupsonparole.
I’ve seen stories about these on different news shows, and how it helps not only the animals, but also helps the inmates — I agree, this is not being soft on crime, but rehabilitation for these individuals.
It’s the penal system actually working, doing something positive for a change. If we had less “throw-away-the-key” attitude and more positive programs and restorative justice, we’d slice the prison budget to shreds. Maybe we need a Navajo Medicine Man running the system.