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| Dogs make companions for Ark. prisoners |
| By wausaudailyherald.com - Josh Dooley, Baxter Bulletin |
| Published: 03/12/2012 |
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CALICO ROCK, Ark. (WTW) — A group of a dozen inmates at the North Central Unit of the Arkansas Department of Corrections sat in plastic chairs Wednesday, smiling, laughing and giving hugs. The six recipients of those hugs showed their appreciation by wagging their tails. Inmates at the DOC prison in Calico Rock were introduced Wednesday to the dogs they'll be training for the next eight weeks as part of the Paws in Prison program. Paws in Prison brings together volunteer animal trainers, inmates and dogs who would otherwise face euthanasia. Teams of two inmates are matched with dogs and spend eight weeks training the dogs and recording their work in journals. Certified animal trainers volunteer their time, spending two to five hours per week teaching the inmates how to train the dogs in basic obedience. Inmates teach the dogs commands, leash work, crate and potty training, according to Shea Wilson, communications director for the DOC. Throughout their eight weeks with their inmate teams, the dogs will sleep in their crates beside the inmates. The dogs will go everywhere the prisoners go, according to Wilson. When the dogs graduate from the program, they are available to the public for adoption. The cost for adoption has been set at $125 per dog, according to Wilson. In 2008, Renie Rule, development director for the Psychiatric Research Institute at the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences, became interested in establishing a dog training program in Arkansas prisons similar to those in operation in other states, according to the DOC. Rule took the idea to Gov. Mike Beebe and ADC director Ray Hobbs, both of whom encouraged Rule to move forward. Read More. |
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