"She had 40 stitches, and her rear end was basically in two pieces"
Enid
The Queenie Foundation
Dallas
Ohio Prisons Go Gladly to the Dogs
By Robert E. Pierre
MANSFIELD, Ohio -- Edie spent her days as a homeless scavenger roaming the
streets in search of food until a property owner, tired of the salt-and-pepper
mixed breed's traipsing over his lawn, blasted the dog with a muzzleloader.
After the dog's emergency care, humane society workers handed Edie over to Aaron
Gray, who spent sleepless nights cleaning her wounds and administering medicine.
But then, Gray has plenty of time on his hands. He's an inmate at Mansfield
Correctional Institution, serving a 6 1/2-year sentence for aggravated vehicular
assault. For the past six months, he has worked inside the prison walls as a dog
trainer responsible for helping to turn wild-eyed strays into family pets.
Edie "had been shot by a 12-gauge," said Gray, 28, of Cleveland. "She had 40
stitches, and her rear end was basically in two pieces. Now, she's playing with
the other dogs."
For castaways such as Edie -- known as "death row dogs" because they have been
saved from the gas chamber -- the prison represents a new lease on life. And
working with dogs has given a new lease on life to many of Ohio's prison
inmates.
Ohio is so enamored with the Tender Loving Care program, pairing strays with
inmates, that the program now operates in 30 of the state's 33 prisons. Prison
officials contend that the introduction of warm and cuddly creatures reduces
jailhouse violence.
"The dogs have had a quieting effect on the inmate population," said Robert
Riddle, Mansfield's deputy warden for special services, who acknowledges that he
initially scoffed at the idea. "I thought the dogs were going to come in and
bite people. But the guys have done a great job. The dogs allow them to be more
human."
The dog training program has stoked a love of animals Gray gained as a child,
when he constantly brought home strays he found on the street. Several of the
dogs he has trained in prison have gone to other owners, but he got so attached
to Edie that his family has decided to care for her until he is released.
"It's brought me closer to my family," he said. "We have something to talk
about."
And it keeps him out of trouble. "This isn't a place to meet friends," he said.
"This is a place to do time. [The dogs] are my friends; they won't betray me."
The town of Mansfield, about halfway between Cleveland and Columbus along
Interstate 71, is home to three prisons, including the reformatory where the
movie "The Shawshank Redemption" was filmed. Brenda Kauffman, president of the
Ashland County Humane Society, had no connection with the prisons' high fences,
guard towers and razor wire when officials there first approached her about
starting the program.
"I saw the possibilities," Kauffman said. "I believe in retraining animals. The
more you can do for the dog, the better their lives. A lot of these animals are
throwaways."
Animals typically arrive having suffered some form of abuse. Many are so afraid
of human contact that they lash out at anyone who approaches. There are rescued
greyhounds that spent their entire lives shuttling between cages and dirt
racetracks, with little interaction with humans or other dogs.
Here, the dogs live in inmates' 8-by-10-foot cells, get walked several times
each day, and are showered with attention by inmates and guards.
At weekly sessions led by dog trainer Therese Backowski, the animals are taught
to sit, stay, come and control their temper -- all the things that will be
needed for them to be successfully placed with a family. She instructs inmates
to be firm but fair with reprimands.
"This is not to make [the dog] feel stupid or inadequate but to make him feel
successful," she said at a recent Wednesday afternoon training session. Some
dogs trained here have been placed with families as far away as Chicago and
Florida.
Many of the inmate trainers have been convicted of serious crimes, including
murder. Even the most hardened, however, can be suckers for the dogs. They get
down on the floor and talk in playful voices to the dogs.
No tax dollars go into the program, officials said, and the animals' food is
donated or purchased with the $100 adoption fees.
Participation is considered a privilege, because trainers have slightly more
freedom of movement than other inmates. Sex offenders and child abusers are not
allowed to participate. Inmates must maintain good behavior.
"It makes inmates realize that they can't just reach out and slug somebody,"
said Roma Paulsen, a prison secretary who has helped run the program since it
started in 1995.
Inmate Mark Painter, who has trained more than 15 dogs in three years, said
initially it was hard to part with an animal with which he had spent so much
time. Now, he said, he looks forward to getting a dog ready to go home with a
family and starting fresh with a new one. His latest project is a 2 1/2-year-old
coon hound named Blue.
"It helps pass the time," said Painter, 34, who is serving nine years for
aggravated felonious assault. "It gives me something to look forward to."
Painter also keeps records for the program, including histories of shots and
lists of donations. He's grateful to have something meaningful to do, but says
there's little question about who gets the better end of the deal.
"Him," he said, pointing to an excited Blue. "He gets to go home."
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