Inmates train dogs in prison program

PEKIN, — Kimberly Brown suffered from depression several years ago, and the advice she was given by doctors was to get a pet.

And she did. After a lengthy search for just the right dog, Brown, 35, of Peoria, found “Sweety,” a then 3-year-old boxer pit with a brindle coat. Sweety was waiting for a little tender loving care of her own as a resident of the Tazewell Animal Protective Society, where she ended up after her owner could no longer care for her.

Sweety helped Brown through her depression, which gave Brown an idea to have her help others.

The eyes of school children and even those of the deathly ill light up when they see “Sweety” come through the door. The children love Sweety when she visits local schools and libraries as part of the Peoria Humane Society's “Paws to Read” program.

The sick, mostly cancer patients, enjoy petting Sweety and having her company in the “Therapy Dogs Inc.” program.

“We go to schools and the library and the kids read to her,” said Brown. She also visits the hospice at the Heartland Hospital.

“When I first got her, she was very docile and didn't play much. When she was around people she wanted to be petted a lot. I took her to get Good Canine Citizen tested at PetSmart and she passed. I went through training with her, and now we are given the names of places where we can take her for therapy programs. People are very happy to see her. She is very well accepted even though she is a pit bull mix and they have been given a bad name. People have been very open and we have had a very good response.”

Sweetie was a part of the TAPS Prison program where inmates train dogs in basic manners and behaviors.

The TAPS dog training program started at the prison in September 2004 with a goal to provide support to TAPS and the community by providing training in basic behavior for dogs that otherwise may not find a home. At the time, the minimum-security prison was for female inmates, but in 2010 the U.S. Department of Corrections changed it to a male facility.

There is no restriction on the breeds of dogs in the program. And it provides inmates with a skill they can use when they leave prison.

“These dogs would probably be unadoptable if not for the training provided by the inmates,” said FCI-Pekin spokeswoman Marie Wynia. “It is part of our adult continuing education class.

“The inmates have to go through an interview process to apply. If they successfully get through the interview process, they become a part of the program and get an education credit with the prison. They do not get any formal educational credit. The program helps them transition into society. Some of our inmates have spent their entire time here in the program. Others start and then find it is not something they want to do.”

Ten inmates from the minimal security section of the prison participate in the program. Most are incarcerated for white-collar crimes or drug-related offenses. TAPS transports six animals daily to the prison where they train four hours a day on Monday through Friday. Some dogs, after they have made progress, come only two to three times a week, giving other animals a chance at training on the off days.

The training sessions are supervised by TAPS and prison staff and receive training from Alliance Pet Behavior owner Ann Goyen, MBA, CPDT-KA, ACDBC.

Goyen has been a professional trainer and behavior analyst since early 2006, after several years of studying animal behavior and working with shelter dogs.

The inmates selected to train the dogs cannot have discipline issues on their record while in prison and must have attained a high school diploma or GED.

“The inmates get a great deal of pride and satisfaction in knowing that they are helping these dogs find homes,” said Wynia. “They do develop bonds with some of the animals, but they understand from the start that they are going to be adopted out — and the inmates all hope that they do.

“Ceasar — everyone fell in love with him. And Maurice — he could have been adopted a dozen times over, because the inmates loved him so much.”

TAPS Volunteer Coordinator Sheila Yaeck said the majority of the dogs in the program are large-breed dogs, but little dogs with behavioral issues have been placed in the program as well.

“Odie (a rat terrier) was full of energy, which is a good aspect sometimes, because here the dogs get out and run with the inmates and burn off that excess energy,” she said. “The dogs are in their kennels most of the time at the shelter, but we do have volunteers who come and walk them.

“The dogs have to go through a temperament test when we get them, and that determines if they are placed in the program. There are more larger dogs in the program. It's not that they have more issues, but when a small dog is nippy they aren't as intimidating to people and not as apt to harm someone. These are mostly animals that need consistent training.”

Romeo was a puppy when he came to TAPS. He is a pitbull mix and showed aggressive tendencies and liked to nip at people. Pit bulls are harder to place because of the public perception that they are more dangerous dogs than other breeds, said Yaeck. Yet after training, Romeo was finally adopted.

The testing looks at aggressive behavior — nipping or biting, food aggression, reactions to touch and more.

Inmates are initially allowed to pick the dogs they wish to train, said Thomas Gellner, unit manager in charge of inmate training. As the training is observed, dog/inmate pairings are sometimes switched, because some of the inmates have more experience in the program and dogs with more issues are paired with them. The training continues until the dog is adopted once a dog is accepted into the program.

TAPS has room for 55 dogs at the shelter, which is full all of the time.

The dogs learn basic manners — not jumping up on people, how to sit and stay. All of the training is through positive reinforcement — praise from the trainer and a treat for doing well. Once the animal masters a command, the trainer builds on that and adds new training.

The program, said Gellner, has been a success.

“There have been 393 dogs adopted that have been in our program here,” he said.

A few of the dogs that are adopted are put into the service industry visiting cancer patients or working with children with disabilities. Inmates love the challenge of helping the animals find homes.

Inmate Christopher Lee, 35, of St. Louis, arrived at FCI-Pekin to finish the remaining few years of his 10-year sentence for bank fraud. He started in the program a month after his arrival. He is working with Blue currently, a doberman mix who just had surgery for a torn tendon.

“This is a great way to spend the end of my sentence,” said Lee. “It's great — something you wouldn't expect to be able to do in prison.

“It helps me and it helps TAPS. We gain knowledge we wouldn't have gotten. I kind of got lowered to the level of `I didn't know that much.' I think it does as much for me as it does the dogs. It fills my days. I enjoy it thoroughly. The one thing I really like is when you are training with them and working with them they give you unconditional love. The big thing is I'm in prison and I get to work with these wonderful dogs every day.”

Lee sent a picture of himself and one of the dogs to his daughter for Christmas. She immediately wanted to know whose dog it was and wanted one.

“When I get out we will have to get one,” he said. “Her mother will probably yell at me for it.

“This is a great tool for when I get a dog for my daughter. I can train the dog so that it likes to be around kids. There are signs they taught us to pick up on with aggression. The last thing you want is a 100-pound dog pawing a 3-year-old child.”

Inmate Efrain Mendez, 29, of Chicago, is incarcerated for a drug transportation charge and due for release in May 2015. He joined the program when he was transferred to the prison in May.

“We train them to do tricks and to be sociable,” he said. “They have a better chance to be adopted.

“One dog I trained was Chevy. He was a pit bull. He was just a good dog — a fast learner. I try to teach them basic manners. I teach them not to lunge at people and other animals. I teach them to pay attention to me, not to other animals. Chevy got adopted. I still think about him.”

Mendez had a rottweiler in private life — before he came to prison. She died.

“I'm definitely a dog person,” he said. “These are good dogs; they've just been abandoned, and some abused.

“Someone can pick them up and do a good job with them. The coolest thing about this is all of the training is through positive reinforcement.”

Mendez giggles when he talks about his latest charge — Big Daddy, a 60-pound pitbull mix with a golden coat, beautiful blue eyes, broad muscular chest and lips always ready to bestow a kiss.

“Big Daddy says it all,” he said, snickering. “But looks can be deceiving.

“He's a big old softy.”