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Pawsitive Change:
Monty’s Home prison dog-training program is underway

By: Emily Rea

Life inside the walls of a prison is an unbearable if not unimaginable thought for most people. It’s a place where time drags away in monotony, where guilt soars as high as self-worth sinks low, where human beings are cut off from their previous lives and shunned by the rest of society. Yet, this September, bearing a ray of hope and offering a sense of restored purpose, a new set of eyes will enter local prison gates, accompanied by sets of soft, inquisitive ears and incessantly wagging tails.

It’s a scenario soon to be realized: rescue dogs behind maximum security bars. The efforts of Monty’s Home—a local canine rescue whose major concern, alongside rescuing dogs and finding them adoptive families—initially began as support and service business to offer help with those suffering with pet-loss grief. Yet, the organization has recently decided to take its rescue techniques one step further.

“Our goal [is] to provide a well-trained canine companion that is selected for adoption according to [the] lifestyle of his new family. To accomplish this with strictly volunteer-based help is unrealistic,” Barb Raab, founder of Monty’s Home, explains. “Utilizing the man power and space the prison systems can provide is a perfect resource. In addition, it allows the inmate population to touch a little of life outside the prison walls through the love of their canine partners.”

A prison dog-training program was formulated originally through a suggestion made by Whitney Doremus, a trainer and owner of Dogs at Play doggie daycare in Wilmington. She brought up the idea to Raab, who agreed that it made perfect sense.

“Having been involved in Cape Fear Golden Retriever Rescue for many years, the plight of the shortage of foster homes always made it an uphill struggle to take dogs into our rescue system,” Raab denotes. “With a local prison right here in town, and Monty’s Home already involved in their many community projects, it seemed like a workable solution to housing the dogs while they are awaiting adoption and incorporating training classes as well.”

It didn’t take long for plans to get underway, and in May 2008, Monty’s Home received state approval to start the first companion dog-prison program in Southeastern North Carolina, known as Pawsitive Partners Prison Program (PPPP). Monty’s Home will rescue dogs from shelters—and future euthanasia—then, while they’re up for adoption, they’ll send the dogs to local prisons to undergo training by a walk of life none too unfamiliar with life behind bars.

“Dogs that we adopt out should have a next-to-zero return rate because of the training [they’ll receive] and matching them to a type of family for that particular dog,” Raab notes of its benefits. As for the inmates, she says, “To train the dogs, we use positive reinforcement, not punishment. Hopefully, while training with this concept, the inmates will learn that there is another way besides force and punishment to get rewards in life.”

One can only imagine the program’s bonding potential between man and man’s best friend—one an outcast from the world, the other abandoned by it. As a nonprofit organization, Monty’s Home will also benefit tremendously, acquiring the trainers it needs that they could not otherwise employ. Even the future adoptive families will be better off, as they will receive well-trained pets specifically suited to their lifestyles.

The dogs used in PPPP will be carefully selected by Monty’s Home from various local shelters, providing them a glorious new chance at life and the hope of a forever home. “We have seven trainers involved in our temperament testing with extensive canine behavior and training backgrounds,” Raab asserts. “We will be utilizing the Sue Sternberg assess-a-pet technique for choosing the dogs. What this means is that before a dog is entered into our program, they must first pass a series of tests to show they do not harbor any aggressive tendencies and can adapt well into the average family household.”

The program anticipates great success; however, like most nonprofits, it will still depend on volunteers and donations to stay afloat. “The state generously provided funds to build kennels at the correction facility, but Monty’s Home carries all other costs associated with the program: veterinary bills, grooming supplies, food, toys, bedding, leashes, collars, treats—anything having to do with proper canine care and training,” Raab says. “This important program staffed completely by volunteer trainers exists only through donations.”

For more information about Monty’s Home and PPPP; to find out how to volunteer time, resources or skills; or to donate money, please visit www.montyshome.org.