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JUNE 2005

Education Behind Bars: Part II of a Series
Puppies Behind Bars
By Mitchell Levine

Fans of HBO’s Oz probably recall several episodes of the drama last year which focused on a guide dog training program figuring strongly into the series’ final season. While the Oswald State Penitentiary was strictly fictional, readers might be interested to know that the service it was based on is not. In 1997, Gloria Gilbert Stoga began New York’s first such inmate program in Bedford Hills Prison, Puppies Behind Bars (PBB), bringing in dogs to bond and be trained by long-term prisoners in explosive detection and support for the blind.

Coming from a public service position in the Guiliani administration, she had little to no experience with either dogs or corrections, but found herself fascinated after hearing of the country’s first prison dog program, begun by Florida veterinarian, Dr. Tom Lane. Her initiative became a huge success, expanding to five more institutions, and now employing 400 volunteers.

After carefully screening inmates by the nature of their crime, emotional and psychiatric stability, work history and other key factors, PBB matches Labrador retrievers with selected participants, who usually aren’t eligible if their first parole board hearing isn’t at least three years away. The inmate students are then enrolled in an eighteen-month class covering basic handling, grooming, biology and the “philosophy of dog raising.” Since the dogs are raised to be seeing-eye animals and to detect explosives, much information concerning the nature of the blind, and the detection of high explosives are prominent in the syllabus as well.

Much other work needs to be done as well, which is where the large volunteer staff comes in. Because guide dogs need to be confident in a wide variety of social situations and environments, they bring the animals into their homes and communities to allow them to experience the world outside lockdown. “Puppy shuttles” are also sent directly into Manhattan on weekends to familiarize the recruits with major urban areas.

None of this was easy to accomplish. In fact, prison officials were initially some of PBB’s most early obstacles: as Gilbert Stoga herself notes, the very nature of the program involves “bending and altering prison rules.” As an admonition to those that might be interested in following in her footsteps, she points out that she’s worked sixty hour weeks for eight straight years, and is constantly fundraising.

But one thing everyone agrees on: Puppies Behind Bars works. In fact, 87.5 percent of her guide dogs are accepted into formal training, and a full 96 percent of the explosives detection dogs. In addition to the five facilities now sponsoring PBB programs in the tri-state area, the group has just welcomed its latest institution, the Mid-Orange Correctional in Warwick, New York.

When asked as to what the most important thing she could recommend to someone considering starting a sister program in another prison system, Gilbert Stoga remarked, “Be prepared to make a commitment.” For information on dog placement, or donating to Puppies Behind Bars, visit the organization’s website at www.puppiesbehindbars.com #

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