Extra Special Pets & Animals
Oct 30, 2009 11:16 pm US/Central
Inmates, Service Dogs-In-Training Help Each Other
FARIBAULT, Minn. (WCCO) ―
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Winston, a black lab, recently finished his first week of training to be a service dog. Inmates at a Faribault prison are helping him learn.
CBS
Behind the barbed wire fence at the state prison in Faribault, inmates serve time for everything from murder to auto theft. But they are not the only ones living there. Some of these felons also have some unusual cellmates not found in any other Minnesota prison.
They are four-legged residents, learning to be assistance dogs. On a recent visit, WCCO-TV met Casper, a poodle, and Winston, a lab. Casper's had been there for three weeks. Winston had just finished his first week of training. Both came from shelters.
At night, they share cells with their trainers, inmates Jeff Jones and Michael Franklin. Both men are minimum security inmates finishing sentences for drug crimes.
Jones and Franklin showed some of their training that included teaching the dogs to fetch keys, open drawers and turn on lights.
The men credit the service dog training program for helping them prepare for life again on the outside and for giving an opportunity to pay back society.
"There is no more responsibility to me than taking care of this dog every day, teaching you a level of responsibility," said Franklin.
The four-year-old program gets high marks from Al Peters, the founder of the
Hearing and Service Dogs of Minnesota. That group provides trainers who supervise the inmates as they train the dogs.
"Puppies go to prison and the puppy raisers just do a great job," said Peters. "The dogs that they produce are exceptional and we are very grateful for their contribution."
The prison staff says the dogs have a calming effect on everyone who works or lives there.
"People that you never would guess would even spend the time to pet a dog are now so attached to them that it's just like having kids," said prison Corrections Officer Terry Kaylow.
After months of training, the dogs move on to serve someone who needs their services. The inmates immediately begin training with a new dog.
Jones and Franklin said it's tough to let go after they say goodbye to the dogs. Through newsletters, they keep up with their progress in the outside world as they provide assistance and service to people in need.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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