March 28, 2024

‘The best of both worlds’

Homeless Creston dogs given training, human contact at Clarinda Correctional Facility

Image 1 of 2

For two years now, the Clarinda Correctional Facility (CCF) has engaged its offenders in a program in which they train and care for homeless dogs from local animal shelters.

While the prison previously worked exclusively with the Animal Rescue League (ARL) out of Des Moines, over the past few months, several dogs from CARE (Creston Animal Rescue Effort) have participated in the program and received training in Clarinda.

The goal of the program is two-pronged: to potty-train, leash-train, teach basic commands to and acclimate the dogs to interacting and living with humans, and then also to provide offenders with animal contact to improve their quality of life and behavior in prison, and allow them to learn from the responsibility of taking care for an animal’s needs.

According to CCF psychologist Blythe Rolow, the program has been positively received so far.

“I think that our program has been very successful,” Rolow said. “The one thing that is always noticed is that the climate of the facility changes when dogs are present. There is a lot less tension. Some of our offenders have not seen or petted a dog in 20 years, so for them getting to do that is a sight to see.”

Logistics of the program

The offenders undergo with each of their assigned dogs an educational training program known as C.L.A.S.S (Canine Life and Social Skills). C.L.A.S.S is “focused on the use of positive reinforcement and to strengthen relationships between humans and their canine companions.”

Offenders are assigned dogs to train and take care of as part of the program, usually for a period of about six weeks.

For that time period, the offenders are in charge of all the basic needs of the dogs, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The dogs stay with the offender in their cell and receive training throughout their stay, including during weekly group training sessions.

Rolow said in addition to the “primary handlers” assigned to each dog, secondary “babysitters” are also assigned to watch the dog when the primary handler needs a break or is working. There are generally anywhere from 12 to 15 dogs at the facility being trained in the program.

About 50 offenders are involved in the program at any one time. There are about 850 offenders currently held in the Clarinda Correctional Facility in total, which has been in place in Clarinda since 1980. It is a medium security facility.

Two staff from CCF are assigned to help coordinate and organize the program, of which Rolow is one, and Correctional Counselor TJ King is the other under the leadership of Treatment Director Shawn Howard.

“TJ and I try to be involved as little as possible,” Rolow explained. “We are transitioning to help make this more offender led. We have offender trainers who we have selected to research and teach all of our training.

“We are in charge of [the] hiring and firing of offender handlers and act as the liaison to each of the shelters,” Rolow continued, “as well as our management here in regards to fundraiser ideas that offenders came up with or different things they would like to help improve the dog program.”

According to CARE volunteer organizer Mycale Downey, there is right now one dog from Creston being trained at the prison, a 1-year-old Australian shepherd/golden retriever/American bulldog mix named “Fane,” which is an old English word meaning “happy.”

“So the idea is to take kind of rowdy, scared shelter dogs and give them some confidence and tools to make them more adoptable,” Downey said. “It’s a pretty good deal — a pretty cool idea.”

Downey explained CARE has now sent three dogs to Clarinda as part of the program, the first two of which have already been adopted.

Fane was picked up by CARE as a stray in 2017 at the age of 3 months. He was adopted just two months later, but his adopter unexpectedly passed away in February and he is now in need of a new home.

Fane’s first day of the C.L.A.S.S. program was March 15, and he will be available for adoption when he returns in just a few weeks’ time.

CARE can be contacted at 641-782-2330.

The program’s beginnings

The dog-training program was started at CCF as an “inmate enrichment program” in May 2016.

According to Rolow, there were originally only four dogs and 10 offenders participating in the program, and the ARL would come down weekly to help the offenders and coordinators train the dogs.

Since then, the program has expanded in its scope and now Rolow estimates somewhere between 125 and 150 dogs have been through the program in total. Last year, the ARL scaled back its participation in the program because of transportation costs and now most of the dogs for the program come from local shelters out of southwest Iowa.

Jan Black, who operates Montgomery County Animal Rescue out of Red Oak, became involved in the program in July 2017 when ARL decided to scale back its own involvement. She currently coordinates identifying and transporting most of the dogs for the program.

“So we kind of took over, and between several of the rescues and shelters around, we provide them with dogs to train and we’re responsible for finding them homes,” Black said.

Black said CCF provides her with weekly reports of how the dogs in the program are doing, and is pleased with the progress and impacts of the program so far, for a variety of reasons.

“I think it’s great,” Black said. “I think it’s good for the dogs, and, you know, when they come out they’re not perfect, you have to continue the training, but they teach them the basic things that a dog needs to know before it could go into a successful adoption — and we don’t have time to do that.”

Black said Montgomery County Animal Rescue no longer has a brick-and-mortar shelter, and is very grateful the program has given local dogs the opportunity to be trained and cared for while they await adoption, and not simply be transported to another shelter for holding or even euthanized under some circumstances.

“So it’s kind of the best of both worlds,” she said. “It’s good for the offenders, because a lot of them don’t have the opportunity to touch and feel a dog and have that bond. You know, it’s actually hard on them, too. Sometimes they get dogs that they’re really attached to — I know there’s some tears shed once in a while when those dogs leave.”

The program’s impact

Doris Green of New Market works as a registered nurse for the CCF.

She is also a proud owner of three dogs, one of which has gone through the prison’s training program. He is a bullmastiff-yellow lab mix named Leon. Green met Leon while he was being trained at the prison, and officially adopted him about five weeks ago.

“So they’ve done the potty training, and the walking on a leash and not yanking on you and all that,” Green said of the training Leon received. “You know, he’ll sit, and he’ll shake and he does a lot of that that they taught him. He’s really a good dog. He’s got a great personality — I’m really enjoying him. He listens real well.”

Green said she wasn’t intending to get another dog anytime soon after one of hers died previously, but took to Leon almost instantly.

“He was just so sweet, and I fell in love with him at the prison,” she said. “And all the staff likes to be involved with the dogs — they all really love the dogs. I have treats in my locker, so I get to know them that way. ... I think the program has been good for everybody. It gives the offenders somebody to take care of — they really enjoy them.”

Green went on to say that perhaps the most meaningful result of the program is that it’s given the offenders and the staff some common ground for interaction. She said it’s something they can talk to each other about that isn’t just “constantly telling them what to do.”

“And I think it’s given them something to look forward to,” she added. “It is hard for them when the dogs leave, but for the most part they just really enjoy having something to take care of and something to do — and they’re proud of them when they do something. It just helps the morale out.”

According to Rolow, the program’s goals have remained the same throughout its two-year life so far, and she’s hopeful it will continue to be a positive impact in the prison and in the community for years to come.

“Since switching to using local shelters,” she said, “we focus much more on the dog’s individual needs and abilities that their potential adopter would want their dog to have. Now we also have frequent contact with the shelters that the dog comes from to be able to gain more information. ... It is my hope that we continue the dog program. Having the dogs at CCF have helped create a different culture here for both staff and offenders.”