80 marieclaire.com.au
THE US
America is in the midst
of a recidivism dilemma,
with research suggesting
that 68 per cent of
prisoners will be
re-arrested within three
years of release. But one
woman thinks she has the
solution: pairing inmates
with rescue dogs who would
otherwise be put down. The
program is called Canine
CellMates, and was founded
three years ago by Susan
Jacobs-Meadows in the
Fulton County Jail in
Atlanta, Georgia.
Men are recommended
for the program by prison
officials and are schooled
by volunteers in how to
communicate and train
their assigned pooch. After
that, the pair live together
for eight weeks, attend
training workshops and themen help present the rescue
dogs to prospective pet
adopters. At the end of the
eight-week cycle, both the
inmates and their canine
companions “graduate”
from the program.
“Our goal is that all the
dogs are adopted by the
time they graduate, and
then their adopters get to
come to [the ceremony],”
says Jacobs-Meadows.
“They get to meet the men
who trained their dogs.
It’s a very meaningful and
powerful experience for
everybody who comes to it.”
Of the 160 inmates
who have taken part in the
program, only 15 men have
been re-arrested since
their release that Canine
CellMates knows of. And it’s
all down to the empowering
nature of man’s best friend.MC FACT Within five years of release, about three quarters, or 76%, of freed prisoners in the US had been re-arrested.*
MAN’S BEST FRIEND
“Dogs have this innate
ability to look inside people,
find the good that exists
in there, and then help
that person to believe
it themselves,” says
Jacobs-Meadows. “And
that’s when change starts to
happen. That’s when that
person starts to believe
that there is something
good about them.”An inspirational program in Atlanta, Georgia, may be
the answer to America’s prison rehabilitation crisisDogs and inmates learn
from each other with the
help of volunteers at Fulton
County Jail (above left).
Kimmie enjoys all the
attention (above).MUTUAL TRUST
Above: Kerry
Gibbs and Jake
are success
stories. Far left:
Canine CellMates’s
Larry hands over
Fletcher to his
new owner.world
wrap