Prisoners given abandoned dogs as cell mates

zainab quadri

November 11, 2015 10:07 AM

In a prison in America a company has come up with the ingenious idea of giving the inmates a dog to look after.

Prisoners given abandoned dogs as cell mates

The scheme has been set up by a company called Canine CellMates. Each prisoner is paired with a dog that is waiting for adoption, and the pair then spend two months looking after each other 24/7.

When the dogs first arrive, they often have no training and are nervous because being in a shelter is a strange environment.

But after the dogs have spent a few days just chilling out and settling in, the prisoners start teaching them tricks like sit, stay and roll over.

Any dog lovers out there can testify that our pets can have a very calming influence on us. It’s bound to have exactly the same effect on these prisoners.

Susan Jacobs-Meadows, executive director of Canine CellMates, said: “Most of these guys gave up believing that there was very much of value to them a long time ago. But when that dog loves them and trusts them that starts to change how they feel about themselves.”

One of the inmates said:

“The bond that me and Fred have – he came to a place where he was going to be put to death and I came from a place that was on the bad side. If Fred can have an opportunity to go to a good home and he can change, that makes me want to change the environment that I’m in. That means I can do better also.”

This story once again shows that having a pet/ someone to look after can change one's life for the better. A couple of years ago the story of John Dolan who was a heroine addict in east London went viral.

John was left with a dog to look after by a strange woman and she never returned. ‘George’ the dog turned the artist life around. Having something to care for changed his whole outlook on life. He now paints for a living and makes thousands of pounds every month.

Watch the video below.

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