Everyone needs a chance for redemption.

One jail in Australia is determined to not only help the female prisoners prepare for life after incarceration, but to save lives instead.

And they are doing it, one retired racing dog at a time.

Linda (names are not their real ones) said her dog, like most pet owners do, is the best. Two-year-old Sherre, a greyhound who is no longer racing, needs to be trained for life outside a race track. 

Sherre, Linda said, has the “cutest” eyes, “chillest personality” and is “full of affection.”

“She’s very loving and sweet-natured,” Linda said, who is an inmate at the Tarrengower minimum security facility.

The inmates are given a chance to participate in a program that helps retired greyhounds prepare for life with a family as well as learn skills for when the inmates are released, as well. The program which began in 2009 has seen more than 600 dogs graduate from the program.

Linda with two-year-old greyhound Sherre. Photo by Penny Stephens/The Guardian

The prison’s general manager, Aoife Johnston, said she can see how much of a difference the dogs make in the attitude of the inmates.

You notice the women involved in the program, they walk around with their head held a little bit higher,” she said.

The program is so popular, Johnston said, that there is a lengthy waitlist.

“They take such pride in this program,” she said. “It’s so positive for them. It gives them the opportunity to develop skills that they wouldn’t always have the opportunity to in custody.”

The process to become a caregiver for the dogs, said Sam White, programs manager at Tarrengower, is similar to if the women were applying for a real-life job outside the prison. They have to submit a resume, and then there will be job interviews and criteria they have to meet, he said.

“We take a lot of things into consideration to see whether they’d be a good fit for the program – at the top is, of course, a love of animals,” White said. “But we don’t tend to look at what they’re in here for.”

Roughly six retired racing greyhounds arrive at the prison every 6 weeks, and are then assigned to an inmate for lessons in basic obedience and how to follow commands.

“Things like not to jump on people or pull on their lead, to stay calm when they see another animal,” White said.

Their women also help the dogs get used to new things, such as stairs, noise from household appliances, as well as the simple things like sitting on a couch. They also keep the dogs clean.

For the women, Johnston said, they get companionship, but more importantly they learn skills that might help them find jobs outside of jail one day.

Inmates walk their dogs. Photo by The Guardian

Corrections minister, Enver Erdogan, said that a majority of the women who had participated in the program now have qualifications in animal studies. Those skills, he said, has helped them get jobs with adoption agencies, veterinary clinics, as well as work as dog groomers.

Also, White added, “We have a really high adoption rate. About 90% of the dogs that come here end up getting a home right away and that’s a credit to these women.”

For Linda, she hopes that she can keep working with the dogs until she is released. She said that there are some days that the dog is the only thing that gets her out of bed in the morning.

“My last dog, she was just a doofus,” Linda said. “She’d get in her water bowl and just splash around.”

You can’t help but watch her and laugh.”

She added, “Even if I was having a really bad day, knowing that I get to go and see her and spend time with her, it makes you think life’s not so bad.”

Watch below for a look at this unique program aimed to help female prisoners!

Source: The Guardian