Prison Dog Program - How To Start A Program
To start a program, there must be a sincere focus in helping the lives of the inmates... and to really make a difference to help rehabilitate the inmates.
The program brings hope... it gives inmates hope... as well as it helps the dogs…
When considering starting a program, you are likely coming from the perspective that you love dogs… the prison comes from the perspective of being focused on the inmates, so when writing to the institution you need to focus on what you think that they would like to hear, which is how this program is going to help the prison and the inmates. The dogs are secondary to the prison. even though they may be your first concern. In some prisons, the correctional officers fight having a program because they think it will cause them more work.
You will have to build a proposal…
1. A notebook full of information on other programs, showing how the program has helped save inmates, how they have gone out and gotten jobs in the field.
2. Stories and newspaper clippings about other programs which you can find on line. Use internet search engines using key words like; “prison dogs”, “dogs in prison”, “inmates helping dogs”, etc.
3. You may be required to write a formal agreement or a MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) detailing the programs objectives and other management agreements between you and the institution. (we can provide a sample, please contact donna@pathwaystohope.org)
So, think carefully of what you want to say in your proposal…
Consider using phrases like;
The program can help inmates focus on becoming ‘other’ centered.
They will learn how to become better parents because they will learn how to take care of something alive.
They can learn a job skill in training as well as in grooming.
They can learn how to share, since having the dogs is all about sharing, understanding, and rebuilding lives.
In our society the inmate is a thrown away person because they did something bad, the abandoned and unwanted dog is a throw away dog, sometimes for doing something bad and the inmates would be learning skills how to teach this dog to become a ‘good citizen’ in the community and this is exactly what the inmates will be doing with their own lives; learning how to be good citizen.
Some benefits are known but not always talked about since many inmates are not into any kind of structured ‘therapy’ but the dogs bring healing, they help build damaged self- esteem, they make hearts happy, and when that happens, the dogs help break down barriers so the inmates can be receptive of other people, programs and of what will help their life become better. The dogs in the prison can really make a major difference in the prison life; the dog becomes a “tool for change”.
Check on what prisons and youth programs are near you, we suggest that you or someone be within close driving distance to the institution in order to be “on call” for emergency’s. In addition it is less of a burden if the people running the program are within easy driving distance to the facility.
You will need to find out who the warden is, and who the head of all the prisons is in your state/area and then write a letter that is addressed to the Warden with a copy to the director of all the prisons. This is important because if the warden wants to do it, but the head of the prisons doesn’t then it won’t happen, by making the request to both parties you will save yourself a lot of frustration. Be sure to request a meeting with all interested parties of the institution, it is helpful to send them newspaper clippings and other information that might peak their interest. Share with them that the prison programs have been featured on Animal planet several times and receive a lot of media attention.
You might want to see if you have anyone in the community that would be supportive, perhaps other dog groups, businesses that might be interested with perhaps getting them to write letters of support, local government to see if you can get people there to write a letter of support because if you have these letters they will see that you are serious about doing this and they might be more careful than to brush you off when they receive your first letter.
Starting a Prison Dog Program is a lot of work, but it is very important that you don’t give up when times are difficult. Some prisons can be very difficult to work with while others are not. The prison program Sr. Pauline started back in 1981 is still going after all these years. They have a boarding kennel set up in the prison and they bring in outside dogs to be boarded and groomed and it is a maximum security prison. They do service dogs and rescue dogs.
Remember, anything is possible!
Good luck and we are here to help in any way we can!
The program brings hope... it gives inmates hope... as well as it helps the dogs…
When considering starting a program, you are likely coming from the perspective that you love dogs… the prison comes from the perspective of being focused on the inmates, so when writing to the institution you need to focus on what you think that they would like to hear, which is how this program is going to help the prison and the inmates. The dogs are secondary to the prison. even though they may be your first concern. In some prisons, the correctional officers fight having a program because they think it will cause them more work.
You will have to build a proposal…
1. A notebook full of information on other programs, showing how the program has helped save inmates, how they have gone out and gotten jobs in the field.
2. Stories and newspaper clippings about other programs which you can find on line. Use internet search engines using key words like; “prison dogs”, “dogs in prison”, “inmates helping dogs”, etc.
3. You may be required to write a formal agreement or a MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) detailing the programs objectives and other management agreements between you and the institution. (we can provide a sample, please contact donna@pathwaystohope.org)
So, think carefully of what you want to say in your proposal…
Consider using phrases like;
The program can help inmates focus on becoming ‘other’ centered.
They will learn how to become better parents because they will learn how to take care of something alive.
They can learn a job skill in training as well as in grooming.
They can learn how to share, since having the dogs is all about sharing, understanding, and rebuilding lives.
In our society the inmate is a thrown away person because they did something bad, the abandoned and unwanted dog is a throw away dog, sometimes for doing something bad and the inmates would be learning skills how to teach this dog to become a ‘good citizen’ in the community and this is exactly what the inmates will be doing with their own lives; learning how to be good citizen.
Some benefits are known but not always talked about since many inmates are not into any kind of structured ‘therapy’ but the dogs bring healing, they help build damaged self- esteem, they make hearts happy, and when that happens, the dogs help break down barriers so the inmates can be receptive of other people, programs and of what will help their life become better. The dogs in the prison can really make a major difference in the prison life; the dog becomes a “tool for change”.
Check on what prisons and youth programs are near you, we suggest that you or someone be within close driving distance to the institution in order to be “on call” for emergency’s. In addition it is less of a burden if the people running the program are within easy driving distance to the facility.
You will need to find out who the warden is, and who the head of all the prisons is in your state/area and then write a letter that is addressed to the Warden with a copy to the director of all the prisons. This is important because if the warden wants to do it, but the head of the prisons doesn’t then it won’t happen, by making the request to both parties you will save yourself a lot of frustration. Be sure to request a meeting with all interested parties of the institution, it is helpful to send them newspaper clippings and other information that might peak their interest. Share with them that the prison programs have been featured on Animal planet several times and receive a lot of media attention.
You might want to see if you have anyone in the community that would be supportive, perhaps other dog groups, businesses that might be interested with perhaps getting them to write letters of support, local government to see if you can get people there to write a letter of support because if you have these letters they will see that you are serious about doing this and they might be more careful than to brush you off when they receive your first letter.
Starting a Prison Dog Program is a lot of work, but it is very important that you don’t give up when times are difficult. Some prisons can be very difficult to work with while others are not. The prison program Sr. Pauline started back in 1981 is still going after all these years. They have a boarding kennel set up in the prison and they bring in outside dogs to be boarded and groomed and it is a maximum security prison. They do service dogs and rescue dogs.
Remember, anything is possible!
Good luck and we are here to help in any way we can!
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