Prison Puppies: But What About the Prisons???

So you have heard from the partners of the service dogs, and you have heard a little bit about the program, but you are still not convinced that this whole “let’s put a puppy in a highly dangerous prison and then later give that puppy to someone with potentially life threatening disability.” Well, personally, I felt that same way when I heard about the program for the first time. At first, I thought “Wow, what a fantastic idea and don’t forget about the financial impact of getting the prisoners to do the raising!” But to be honest, the more I had thought about it, I began to feel a little uncertain about the idea of a prisoner being one of the first people to socialize with these amazing animals. I mean, they did not just let anyone into the program, right? Right! I spoke with Jennifer Swank, Puppy Program Coordinator at Canine Partners for Life, to figure out the answers to some of my more serious questions.

Swank informed me that Canine Partners is actually VERY specific about their guidelines as to who is allowed to be a handler and who is not. In fact, there are over ten criteria that the prisoner must meet in order to even be considered for the position, some of which include “inmates whose crimes were against animals or children will not be considered; inmates whose crimes were sexually predatory in nature will not be considered; must be misconduct free for the last 12 months; must be free from misconducts for assault or fighting for two years; etc.” That alone eliminates many of the stereotypical prisoners that we think of, especially those that are placed in minimum and maximum security prisons. Currently, there are eight prisons that are taking part in this volunteer program with about 100 prisoners at a time. Each puppy is then assigned to two handlers, with four to six puppies at each institution. There is some exciting news coming soon! Starting May 12^th, there will be a ninth prison added to the institutions! Swank was actually on her way to the new prison to train the managers on how to train the prisoners about training the puppies! Phwew…a lot of training involved!

As I spoke to Swank, I realized a thought that I never had before: what about when the puppies go back to Canine Partners after their first year? I always knew that the community homes had a difficult time with it, but they had a life to move on with and could keep open communication with the future recipient. What did the prisoners have? Swank said that while the prisoners definitely miss their puppies, they usually end up getting a new one very soon after and that many times, the puppy will come back to visit. While Zido was not raised primarily in a prison, I have been asked to go visit one sometime to be able to show the prisoners exactly what all of their efforts amount to. I am just waiting on my dad to approve that one…I guess we will just have to see…