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| Prison dogs are tension-relievers for Colorado's mentally ill inmates |
| By denverpost.com- Kirk Mitchell |
| Published: 09/02/2014 |
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The mentally ill inmate has long been a recluse in his cell, refusing to utter a word to anyone or go anywhere near a therapy session. But lately, the man has been coming out of his cell — and his shell — with little or no prodding. It's whenever he sees Lazy Daisy sauntering through the prison pod, wagging her tail. The black Labrador mix, once on "doggie death row," has a calming, even therapeutic effect on the inmate and many others. Lazy Daisy is the star of a new animal-therapy program started for severely mentally ill inmates at Centennial Correctional Facility in Cañon City. She has the ability but not the inclination to bark. She freely gives and receives love without fear among some of the most dangerous offenders in Colorado's prison system. "It's a piece of the outside world that some of these guys haven't had in a long time," said Darce DeWitt, a mental health worker at Centennial. "She gives them lots of slobbery, wet kisses." Read More. |
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