So as most of you know, I work in a prison. And as some of you already know, I have recently become a coordinator for our Puppies for Parole program. The program consists of taking dogs who need a second chance from local shelters and pairing them with inmate handlers for an eight week training course. Once the cycle ends, the dogs are adopted out into new loving homes and then we get new dogs. It is a wonderful program as it gives these dogs a chance to find happy forever homes, and it also gives the offenders a sense of purpose while serving their sentences. Dogs certainly brighten up an enviornment that is angry and sad. They bring happiness to a place with gloomy old brick buildings and acres of razor wire. 

Obviously I feel as this was my calling and I have been really happy since I've started as a coordinator with the program. It's a lot of extra work (I don't get paid for) ..but I find it extremely rewarding. 

Here's our dogs this cycle!

This is the only dog on A side (the prison is split between A and B side) and he's the dog assigned to my offender handlers. He is a beagle mix and just about the sweetest dog there is. So loving and I am already attached! Bo is actually set to be adopted by our warden's daughter. 

Here is Mz. Red! She is a pitbull/german shepherd mix. Very shy, but she's coming along. 

This guy is one of my favorites. His name is Blaze and he's a shepherd mix. 

This is Birdie. She's a beautiful pitbull mix and really smart.

This is Meredith! She's just a puppy and is so adorable, with the brightest prettiest eyes. 

She has that smile like she wants to pounce on you and devour you with her kisses haha

UPDATE: 

Only two weeks until graduation for this cycle! Graduation day is November 10th, and it will be my first time speaking to a crowd. I've been picked as the official graduation speaker (kinda scary, but also exciting) 

All the dogs are doing well. I had been really worried about our dog, Birdie, because she didn't have any applications for adoption on her. And if they don't get adopted, they go back to the shelter and well - what happens from there, we really don't know. The parole officer who works in my housing unit is absolutely lovely. Just really down to earth, very sweet, and she decided that since Birdie didn't have an application on her that she was going to take her. A few phone calls and Birdie was approved to go home with Beverley on a furlough (a weekend home stay). Needless to say I was very happy and relieved that Birdie is going to just about the nicest person ever. Birdie has a home! (I can stop tossing and turning at night) And I can visit her any time since Bev and I are pretty close now.

There's one dog so far that doesn't have an application. It breaks my heart that at graduation when all the new dog parents take their dogs home, that there will be one or two not being taken home. They go back to the shelter. I guess I have to have thick skin, but I foresee shedding some tears.

Here's Birdie during her furlough, all stretched out and looking right at home! 

My first cycle of dogs have graduated! I have to say that I couldn't help but tear up as these wonderful dogs I had spent the last 8 weeks with graduated and went on to their new homes. Our dog Birdie, the one pictured above, could not find a home. After two furloughs it was found that she was extremely protective of female humans and very aggressive to other dogs. In one family (the PO officer who took her on the first furlough) has a playful, happy go lucky shepherd mix and she pushed him to the ground and displayed aggresive dominance. In the second home she the family had a lab/pit mix (same as Birdie, same size) and she displayed the same behavior. Every dog in the cycle found a home except for Birdie :(

The good news is, Central Security (where the upper custody officers are located and someone is there 24/7) all want her to be the "house dog" - but that's not quite worked out. We decided to keep her for another 8 week cycle and hope that she can find a home that fits. She needs someone who doesn't have any other pets, is strong and diligent enough to keep up with her and her training, and doesn't have small children. We've had obstacles like that before. I am hopeful that she will find a loving home. Biridie was moved to B-Side to work with a new handler. 

After graduation, we got four new dogs from a local shelter (instead of the flakey Illinois shelter we'd been using for years with numerous problems) I wasn't able to get pictures of all the dogs. I looked on their Facebook page and they had very few pictures of the dogs they gave us. 

The dog my guys go is named Ruffie. He's a shepherd mix and he is very shy. He doesn't seem to understand how to play with a ball, but he will run and play while he's loose in the yard. He has been in the shelter for two years. He was adopted out, as you can see by the picture below, but the family brought him back because, and I quote from the Shelter "They were bored of him." He's really sweet.

The only other dog I could find a picture for was Kyle. He's an English Foxhound. I don't know much about him yet, but he fell asleep during orientation. So I'm guessing he's pretty laid back. He has been at the shelter for quite some time now, and he too was adopted out only to be brought back because he was "too rambocious" with the family's toddler. I find that a bit hard to beleive, but he's with us now! 

There's also another dog, and I can't believe I couldn't find a picture of him. But he's a Great Dane/Border Collie mix and boy is he tall. His name is Rex. He is colored black and white harlequin like a Dane. He has floppy ears and a playful personality. Of the new arrivals, he is my favorite. Just a gorgeous dog. 

Finally, I couldn't find a picture for Maya. She's a bulldog mix, about 18 months old. Tiny and full of spunky energy. I'll try to get pictures of them at some point. 

Anyways, we are using the local shelter now. They are so much more involved in the lives of these animals and they scrape by as they are non-profit. They accept anything from kitty litter to dog treats, toys, and blankets for the cold winter months. If you're interested in donating any items you can contact me. It would help these animals in the shelter as well as support my Puppies for Parole program. 

This is a video about our Puppies for Parole program. It was written and performed by two inmates in my prison. It shows just how much we've done for these animals, and how much they are helping us as well. I'm so proud to be a part of this now.

OHHH I want Meredith! haha

Meredith was from the first cycle and she got a home and went home with her new parents at Graduation on Tuesday :)

awh booo! she was so cute!

She really was! Those eyes..they just looked right through you. When she came in she was teeny tiny and by graduation she had grown so much. Such a beautiful dog. She went to a good home :)

I really want a picture of that Great Dane cross! God he sounds gorgeous.

Link Tree

Love the work you're doing with these dogs!

Love this post, when are we getting more photos? lol

Paints since 6-8-14

We will have dog training class on Tuesday evening, back to normal (sort of) this week. This past week we did not have training because it was storming and there was a monsoon. It was crazy. Flooding and stuff everywhere. I'll bring my institution digital camera and try to get some pictures of everyone else. It's difficult to do that without being able to have my phone inside! haha.

Chao, Rex is GORGEOUS. I will try to get a picture of him for you. Just imagine a giant border collie with the harlequin patterns and shorter hair and that's Rex :)

Love hearing about your work with this and all the dogs!

I got some pictures! Not exactly great ones, but the institution camera is like, a 2008 walmart digital camera. I'll post them Monday evening! 

An update for those interested: 

Ruffy, the dog that my two handlers got was with us for three weeks or so. Since we got the new dogs, of course. But he wasn't adjusting well. Usually you will see these shelter dogs come out of their shells and play and brighten up. It is prison, but they recieve love and attention from humans 24/7...something they probably don't have in their kennels at the shelters. Even if the shelter is a good place. But Ruffy was terrified of everyone. He growled at officers, certain offenders. He did okay with his personal handlers. But his tail never left from between his legs. His ears never came up. He wouldn't look at anyone. We decided that the program wasn't helping him, and maybe making it worse. As you can imagine, if you believe in this sort of thing, prison has a very negative aura. Just the enviornment can be emotionally draining. I think dogs can feel that. After I found out that Ruffy was previously attacked twice on separate occasions by other dogs, and beaten by a previous owner, it was understandable just how little he responded to the enviornment. We decided to give him back to the shelter for a different dog. 

When I met the shelter owner out front the day we traded, Ruffy's ears shot up, his tail started wagging and he looked like a dog for the first time. She has decided to place him in a quiet foster home, with no other dogs. The shelter life and prison wasn't going to help him. I was glad to see him happy. And I'm glad he's going to foster care where he will do best.

So we got Skittles in trade. She is a Lab/Austrailian Shepherd mix. She looks like a long haired lab, with some speckles on her face and feet. She had a bobbed tail? I guess the people who bred her expected her to look more like an Aussie, but she didn't. It is cute though, in a way. She looks like a baby deer. She is full of energy, love, and 9 month old puppy excitement. She's happy to run in the yards and chase the ball and chase the officers coming in, sniffing their lunchboxes and begging for pets. 

So that's where we are! I won't have any pictures of Skittles, but I'll try to get some at some point. 

I've got pictures for you! 

As I stated in my post above, we traded Ruffy for Skittles. I took her out into the lobby and used my cell phone to take some pictures of her! 

The rest of the pictures are from the institutions camera, so they're a little blurry. 

Here is Rex! (Chaotic's favorite!) He is about 15 months old and he is Great Dane & Bordier Collie. He has been given the nickname "Wonder Dog"

Here is Kyle, on the left and Rex on the right. Kyle is an English Foxhound. 

This is our little Maya! She...well we don't know what she is. But she's adorably and about 8 months old! 

And finally, here's a little treat! Our trainer drives down every Tuesday, two hours from home, to come and teach our offenders. She is an incredible trainer and a wonderful person. Usually she brings her "in training" dogs from clients, but tonight she brought her two beautiful German Shepherds that are perfectly trained and just lovely. Nala is on the left and Ritter is on the right. So envious! 

Skittles is too cute! < 3

I'm going to take each dog out in the lobby on Tuesday and get better pictures. I'll update when I've got them all! 

Ah they're so cute! Can't wait for the new pictures! :)

My second cycle of dogs since taking over Puppies for Parole has graduated! We got five new dogs today. I won't have pictures of them until next week. But I am so happy that all the dogs got adopted! Well..except for Birdie. We kept her two full cycles, 16 weeks, and still couldn't find a home for her. The shelter came and got her today and I was pretty sad. But the good news is, they are not a kill shelter. And one of our best handlers is getting out of prison next week and he plans to go adopt her. He loves her, he can understand her and give her what she needs. So let's cross our fingers that he gets her (we've already given our blessing for this to the shelter) So it may have a happy ending after all :) 

Myself and another coordinator are now the two sole coordinators for the entire institution. Our mentor, and the P4P coordinator retired last week. We're all on our own and this cycle will be our first as the "official" coordinators. I'm excited, but it's a lot of extra work. I'll start a new thread when I get pictures of the new dogs that came in today. I figured everyone would like an update on Cycle 2 and see that everyone was adopted! Yay! 

Yay for Cycle 2 adoptions!!! :D
Can't wait to see the new pups!!!