Inmates will give dogs a chance for real freedom

Some of the men incarcerated in the minimum-security prison in Baker City will help New Hope for Eastern Oregon Animals retrain rescued dogs for future adoption.

New Hope, in conjunction with Powder River, is overseeing the Powder Pals program, which will start this fall.

About 30 percent of stray dogs are euthanized, said Dick Haines, who helped to establish the nonprofit New Hope for Eastern Oregon Animals this spring.

Most abandoned dogs have behavioral problems, often resulting from abuse or neglect, that prevent them from being adopted.

“Many were homeless or in a situation that it was not able to stay in balance with its owner or experienced violence as discipline,” Haines said.

But Haines said most rescued dogs can be retrained.

The difficulty, he said, is finding people willing to commit the time needed to retrain the dogs.

Finding those people is New Hope’s goal.

“A lot of this training takes time,” Haines said.

 “Civilians don’t have a lot of time to do it between family and work. Inmates have the time.”

He expects inmates can retrain dogs in as little as two or three weeks. The process can take several months when the re-trainers can’t devote much time to working with dogs.

The timeframe, in any case, depends greatly on the animal.

Before going to Powder River, dogs will go through a physical examination and temperament testing.

Carolyn Flynn, an animal behaviorist in North Powder, will conduct the temperament testing. She has been working with dogs for 30 years and has a passion for the animals.

She said that during her career she has only requested that two dogs be put down.

Both instances, however, were rare and the diagnosis was the result of extreme circumstances. Of the two, one of the animals was born with a deficiency making it behave aggressively and not responsive to training.

“About 99 percent can be trained,” Flynn said.

Other dogs have what Haines referred to as “fear aggression.” He describes this as fight-or-flight syndrome. The dog might be afraid of humans because it has had little or no contact with people. However, instead of fighting or being aggressive, it runs to a hiding place.

Among the dogs that are candidates for the Powder Pals program is Luke, a 6-month-old Labrador and Huskie mix that Haines is caring for at his home.

Neither Flynn nor Haines knows the details of Luke’s past.

But Flynn said it doesn’t matter.

“Dogs don’t live in the past, they live in the now. Dogs don’t hold grudges,” she said.

Flynn said Luke exhibits deep fear anxiety. When he’s around people, the dog will typically run to what Flynn referred to as a “safety zone,” which could be under a tree or his kennel behind Haines’ house; wherever he might feel is a safe distance from people.

When on a leash, Luke will hide his tail between his legs and stiffen his body, not wanting to move with the handler.

Flynn is working with Haines and his wife, Karen, to help Luke respond positively to human interaction.

“The dog exhibits isolation behavior,” Flynn said. “This isn’t a permanent thing, it can be corrected.”

Haines said Luke would be a candidate for obedience training through Powder Pals.

The inmates at Powder River will work with dogs such as Luke to correct deficiencies and to teach basic obedience.

“We have some volunteer trainers that will come out and teach the inmates how to train the dog positively,” Haines said. “We want to have positive training only.”

The volunteer trainers will come once a week to make sure animals are being trained and cared for properly.

Haines said the program will benefit not only the animals, but also the inmates by giving them skills that they could turn into a career after they’re released.

“We’re always looking for job skills training for inmates,” said Ron Miles, Powder River public information officer. “We look to teach them to get up at a regular time and be responsible.”

While working with the animals, Miles said the inmates will be responsible for feeding and walking the dogs and keeping their kennels tidy.

“This is an opportunity for them to learn to care for something other than themselves,” Miles said. “Many of them have had lives that only required them to care for themselves. They will learn skills to put others before themselves.”

Part of the responsibility, according to Miles, is learning patience.

“One thing we know about inmates is the lack of patience. When they work with animals they will have to be patient while the animal learns the skills to be reintegrated into adoption. The inmate is also learning skills.”

He said prison officials will scrutinize inmates’ histories before deciding which are eligible to work with dogs.

“No animal abuse in the inmates background,” he said.

The inmates chosen for the job must have had at least six months of appropriate behavior before being allowed to work with the dogs.

“This is going to really benefit Baker County,” Miles said.

Once the dog is trained satisfactorily, it will be moved to the Best Friends of Baker for foster placement.

Haines said the Powder Pals infrastructure will be built at the prison in September and training could begin in October.

 New Hope is responsible for the cost of building the kennels and housing the animals at the prison. The Leo Brookshier Trust is supporting New Hope through donations.

Powder Pals is modeled from similar successful nationwide programs, including the Pen Pals program at Snake River Correctional Facility in Ontario, which began operating last year.

“This training will give an otherwise difficult-to-place dog a more promising chance for a future in a loving home,” Haines said.