Florida prisoners train dogs to serve disabled people

From the South Florida Sun-Sentinel:

PAHOKEE, Fla. - Gillus, a 4-month-old golden retriever with a smooth coat and lots of energy, accomplished a milestone last week. He opened a heavy door, a skill that will be useful to the disabled person he will soon assist.

Steven Gaffney, of Plantation, is training Gillus. He feeds him, grooms him, picks up after him, sleeps next to him and takes him out for exercise.

But Gaffney is not your typical dog trainer. He is serving nine years for cocaine possession, resisting arrest with violence and four other offenses.

"He's the son I never had," said Gaffney, 44, of his 24-hour-a-day companion. "It used to be just me. Now he's first."

Gaffney and nine other inmates at Sago Palm Work Camp, a satellite of Glades Correctional Institution state prison, are training eight golden retriever and Labrador retriever puppies as part of the new Prison Pup Program, the first in the state.

Each inmate is assigned a puppy, who will learn 80 commands designed to help the disabled, including veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. After 18 months, the retrievers move out of the prison and into the homes of the handicapped.

"We look for inmates with love and emotion and a lot of heart," said Janet Severt, executive director of New Horizons Service Dogs, based in Orange City, which supplies the dogs, trainers and volunteers. "They know they'll be giving up the puppy."

Similar programs have sprung up across the country, including the New York-based Puppies Behind Bars and Ohio's Inmate Community Service Dog Programs, which also trains dogs for family adoptions.

Some service-dog programs have looked for help from prisoners because of a lack of volunteers, but, Severt, said prisoners offer several other advantages that are useful for training animals for disabled assistance.

"We are better able to monitor what dogs are being taught within the prison system," said Severt, who has been using a wheelchair for 45 years. "Prisoners also have more time. They don't have to worry about taking care of their families or other concerns."

It is unclear whether these programs help offenders become better citizens upon release, although corrections officials and program organizers are confident they will. Inmates, they say, learn responsibility, consistency, discipline and an optimistic outlook.

The state Department of Correction in Massachusetts is studying the recidivism rate among prisoners who worked with NEADS [Dogs for Deaf and Disabled Americans], which operates 17 prison-dog programs in New England, program spokesman John Moon said. NEADS prison-dog programs have become a "real source of stability and compassion" in New England prisons, he said, although he could understand if the families of the inmates' victims complain about the effort going into the prisoners' training.

"The programs develop a level of humanity that was never seen before," Moon said. "A real relationship develops, a positive one."

It costs about $20,000 to raise and train each puppy, including a paid trainer who visits the prison twice a week, dog food and toys, breeding, medical care and lifetime follow-up, Severt said. New Horizons raises the money through donations and grants, she said.

At Sago Palm, a minimum- to medium-custody facility, inmates filled out an application and passed an interview before being selected for the program. Most had owned pets and relished the chance to get out of the work camp's road and maintenance projects.

"This is a lot better," said Johnny Joiner, 27, of Okeechobee, who is serving 10 years for a 2006 manslaughter conviction and works with a Labrador retriever named Cotton. "He cheers me up in the morning when I'm down. When they learn a new trick, it brings your spirits up."

Trainer Patty Armfield of New Horizons visits Sago Palm twice a week to go over lessons and test the puppies to confirm they are making progress. Each inmate keeps a detailed journal of his dog's daily schedule and new tricks. Armfield teaches them positive reinforcement techniques, voice control and patience.

"This is helping me with people skills," said Enrique Myers, 34, who works with Denim, a Lab. He is serving 15 years for second-degree murder and cocaine trafficking.

"I always need a happy facial expression," because Denim senses when he despairs, said Myers, who also credited the prison's Christian ministry for improving his outlook. "There are days when I don't feel like training, but I know I have a job to do."

In about 16 months, when the puppies leave the prison for good, the inmates expect a tear-filled good-bye. But they know they will have to let go.

"It's going to tear me apart," Joiner said. "It will be emotional, but I know it will be for a good cause."