Several counties throughout Florida have implemented Florida Department of Corrections Inmate Dog training programs. And no program is alike, explained Cris Johnson, Director of the Pen Pals inmate dog training program in Hernando County. She explained that some programs focus on particular breeds, while others aim to train the dogs using a certain method.
The Pen Pals program in Hernando County is midway through their third 8 week training program since starting in February of 2016. Two sets of handlers from our local women’s prison is assigned to a dog hand picked from Animal Services by Animal Services Staff, Johnson and Terah Dunham, the program’s professional dog trainer. Usually they try to choose dogs that are less likely to be adopted due to a correctable behavior, such as jumping, barking or dominance, explained Dunham and Johnson.
Ranging in age from 5 months to 7 years, the current group of dogs are all a little dominant, but in a subtle way says Terah Dunham. This is different from the previous group of dogs who were all pretty relaxed. This challenges the women in the program to learn how to deal with dominant behavior, which in the long run gives them more experience to take with them, when they leave the facility. There are 5 dogs in the program now and two groups of 4 dogs have already graduated.
The program is a privilege for the participating women. It encourages camaraderie between the women in the program as they work together to figure out how to solve different issues with the dogs. “They’re learning all ten of them to become a team,” explained Johnson. It’s not the ‘my dog’ mentality, she continued, “They are all sharing their dogs and sharing knowledge.”
“It’s teaching them good lifeskills. Their personalities are all different. They are learning how to work as a team, be critical but in a nice way and how to respond to that. When you join the workforce you have to learn to deal with different people. I just see remarkable changes in all of them,” said Dunham.
For the dogs, they are getting the attention of around 400 women on a daily basis. There are a variety of different smells, approaches and sizes explained Johnson. This makes the dog more adaptable to different situations. “It makes them better dogs,” says Johnson.
The rest of the compound enjoys having the dogs there,” she explained. They bring in donations and always ask about the dogs. Johnson said that 50-70% of their adoptions so far have been from within the prison.
“We want the public to know about this great program, not just the prison,” said Dunham. But because the corrections officers and volunteers see them first, they’re scooping them up, explained Johnson, laughing.
Johnson emphasized that when you adopt a dog out of the program, it is fully vetted with microchip, spay/neuter, vaccinations and obedience training. Additionally, part of the training includes a daily journal kept by the handler, which addresses specific behaviors exhibited by your dog and how the trainer dealt with the issue. The new families are able to consult the journal about a particular behavior exhibited by the dog. The family can also rely on Dunham and Johnson for additional advice and support outside of the journal. For all of this, the adoption fee is surprisingly affordable at $50.
Dunham said, “I think it is a really great program for the community as a whole. We get better dogs out there…”
“And we give these girls a direction to go when they leave. Because they are eventually going to leave,” Johnson added.
Tears usually flow at training graduation day, when the women hand the leash over to the dog’s new owners. But they are inspired, explained Dunham. “They have their tears, but are ready to move on to the next group [of dogs].”
Dunham explained the reality is that black bulldogs stay in the shelter the longest and their program tries to address that. “Black dogs as a whole sit in shelters the longest,” she said. Right now, they have Dolly in the program who is a black pit. Dunham explained that she has a very sweet, relaxed personality and is quite a character.
During the fourth week of the 8 week long program, they schedule a public meet and greet with the dogs, so that dogs who have owners already can spend some time with them and the dogs that don’t have owners yet can be seen by potential adopters. The meet and greet will take place on August 27th at Airport Farmer’s and Flea market as part of their “Dog Days of Summer” lineup. You can stop by to see the dogs at 9AM. The event runs until 3PM, but Johnson isn’t sure if they’ll be able to have the dogs out that long.
Two weeks after the meet and greet, the process will begin again as selection for the next set of pups will start. “It’s really a group effort when we go to pick these dogs,” said Johnson. They do a lot of back and forth about various dogs with animal services. “We’re all working together to make the program a success and make the dogs a success.”
As the program matures, Dunham foresees her handlers addressing a wider variety of behavioral issues such as serious fear issues. The training skills of the women in the program are progressing quickly and they are enthusiastic to learn more training techniques.
As far as the families that adopt the dogs, “Those that stay with the training are doing really well, and those who, shall we say strayed or diverted from the training, are being challenged,” said Johnson. Those who have ‘strayed’ are able to use Dunham and Johnson as a resource to get back on track with the dog’s training and routine.
“Overall it’s creating an environment where there is better behavior on the human portion and better behavior on the dog portion,” said Dunham.
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Terah Dunham owns Legacy Dog Training in Brooksville. She can be reached at (352) 232-7912.
You can learn more about the Pen Pals program by emailing Cris Johnson at penpalshc@yahoo.com