Alaska Star - Your Community Newspaper: Hiland Mountain dog program is SPOT on 05/31/07

By DARRELL L. BREESE
Alaska Star
photo:news
Erica Perry gets Scooby to rollover during a demonstration of the training receive as part of the Shelter Pet Obedience Training partnership between the Hiland Mountain Correction Center and the Mat-Su Borough Animal Control.
Star Photo DARRELL L. BREESE
During 2005, more than 500 adult dogs were euthanized at the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Animal Care Center. That number was far too high for Chief Animal Care Officer Dave Allison, who said it's really easy to adopt out puppies and kittens, but very hard to find a home for an adult dog.

The number of adult dogs being put down has dropped in the past year, thanks to a joint program with the Alaska Department of Corrections and the inmates at Hiland Mountain Correctional Center called SPOT, Shelter Pet Obedience Training.

Wednesday marked the one-year anniversary of the program, and officials with HMCC and Mat-Su Animal Control celebrated with the graduation of eight dogs from training.

“I can't say enough about how successful this program has been,” Allison said. “It speaks volumes about the state correction system and the inmates' willingness to participate and give the dogs going through the program a second chance at life.”

According to Allison, the eight dogs that completed the training Wednesday brings the total number of dogs whose lives were saved to 68 since the program began. He added that each of the dogs was adopted more than two weeks ago, and their new owners were happy to finally take them home.

Under the agreement between HMCC and the Mat-Su animal shelter, the SPOT program uses inmate volunteers to better prepare shelter dogs for adoption. A professional dog trainer donates their services to teach the inmate handlers how to train the dogs.

“When the program started, the handlers at Hiland were learning on the fly how to train the dogs,” Allison said. “Now after a year being involved in the program, they are better at what they do. They've put a whole lot of heart into the program.”

Dogs are assigned two inmate trainers and will spend six to 10 weeks in training.

“Each dog receives obedience training from a team,” HMCC Superintendent Dean Marshall said. “In order to volunteer for the program, inmates must have no disciplinary write-ups, must have or be actively working for a GED, and must have six or more months left in their sentence and they cannot have a history of cruelty to animals or child abuse.”

The inmates are taught how to teach the dogs skills that are valuable in the real world, including house training, kennel training and a few tricks.

“The only drawback of the program is the dogs usually come out of the training addicted,” Allison said. “They're treat junkies and used to a lot of love.”

The dogs are not the only ones who benefit from the partnership.

“It's good for the inmates, because it teaches values such as patience and dedication,” Marshall said. “Plus, it's a good management tool for the institution because it is an incentive for good behavior and allows inmates to give something back to the community.”

The SPOT program at Hiland is the only one of its kind in the state, but Allison is hopeful to add additional partner facilities in the future.

“We already have a great working relationship with the Point Mackenzie Correctional Farm,” Allison said. “They've helped us care for abandoned livestock and other large animals. I think they could be a good fit for a SPOT program.”

Allison also mentioned the Palmer Correctional Center in Sutton as a possible partner for the Mat-Su shelter.

“There's no reason other animal shelters can't adopt this program as well,” he said.

The program has been so successful that Marshall sees no reason for it to end anytime soon.

“It operates at such a low cost to the state with the Mat-Su Shelter providing the food for the animals, that I don't see any financial reason to cut the program,” Marshall said. “And it is a mutually beneficial program that I believe as long as there are dogs from the shelter in need of training, we'll do what we can to continue to provide that service.”

Reach the reporter at darrell.breese@alaskastar.com.

This article published in The Alaska Star on Thursday, May 31, 2007.

Alaska Star - Your Community Newspaper: Hiland Mountain dog program is SPOT on 05/31/07.

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