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| Prisoners Give Dogs Second Chance |
| By The Kansas City Channel |
| Published: 12/05/2005 |
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What can life behind bars teach a dog? What can an inmate learn from an animal? Inside Kansas City's Lansing Correctional Facility, prisoners are using the Safe Harbor program to turn dogs nobody wanted into cherished pets. "(Inmates) are still people -- they have all the needs for closeness and companionship that everybody else does," Lansing Warden David McKune said. "(Safe Harbor) gives them something legitimate to care about and that cares for them." Toby Young started the Safe Harbor program after a life-threatening illness. "When you have cancer, it makes you think about your whole life in general, and have you left something behind," Young said. At the Lansing penitentiary, Young created a place for dogs from shelters throughout the Midwest. Some of the dogs are abused, but through the program the dogs are house trained, learn obedience and discover how to become man's best friend again. "Every dog we brought in here was going to be put to sleep," Young said. Chapman reported that the inmates involved in the program are trained and screened. Also, the inmates must earn their position in the program. "I didn't know how to train a dog when I first started," inmate Steve Beard said. "Making dogs better, I don't know how to explain it, seems to make people better," inmate Antwan Steele said. "I've been here 14 years, been a knucklehead pretty much the whole time here," inmate Randy McIver said. "They've changed me for the better, that's for sure." "Though you can't be with your child, you still give love and compassion and care, but you give it to a dog that's in need," an inmate said. In one year, Safe Harbor has sent more than 600 dogs to new homes. "Whether they get adopted or not all depends on our training," inmate Pete Spencer said. "I'm making some family happy and saving the dog's life," an inmate said. "It hurts at first, because you get so attached and you love them and take care of them, then they got to go," an inmate said. "But if me taking care of them dogs helps somebody else, I'm all for it." Chapman reported that no tax dollars are used for the program. An adoption fee and donations pay for vaccinations and for spaying and neutering the dogs. The dogs are available at pet fairs throughout the year. |
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