Matter of trust

May 9, 2006

By LEILA KHEIRY

Frontiersman

EAGLE RIVER - It is said that all dogs go to heaven. As far as Gurly, Max, Otis, Bilbo, Sammy and Tisha are concerned, they already made it to paradise, with a razor-wire-topped fence as their version of the pearly gates, and - from their perspective - angels in yellow prison-issue jumpsuits.

The six Mat-Su Borough Animal Care and Regulation shelter dogs chosen for a cooperative pilot program with the state's Hiland Mountain Correctional Center prison in Eagle River don't know they're in jail. They just know they're no longer neglected, starved or otherwise mistreated. Now they have love, attention, exercise, good food, soft beds and plenty of tasty treats when they behave.

Unlike most of their handlers, the dogs won't be in prison for long. After six to 10 weeks of obedience training with their inmate handlers, the canines will come back to the Valley, ready for adoption by a loving family.

The program, called SPOT - an acronym for Shelter Pet Obedience Training - began in mid-April with five dogs and 10 inmates - two handlers for each canine. A sixth dog was added later, and Mat-Su Animal Control Chief Dave Allison said he hopes to expand the program even more once the pilot class has graduated.

All the dogs chosen for SPOT had used up their time at the shelter and were scheduled for euthanasia, he said. The shelter tested the dogs' temperaments to make sure they weren't aggressive and were amenable to training, he said, then the lucky six were sent to prison.

Their handlers also were screened. None of the women in the program have a history of animal abuse, and all must have a good disciplinary record in jail. They went through their own training before the dogs arrived to learn how to teach their charges, and Valley dog trainer Cheri Hagen volunteers one day a week to help the inmates continue training.

The dogs aren't learning obedience only; they also are gaining social skills. Erica Perry is working with Gurly, an approximately 2-year-old husky mix. Perry said Gurly was abused before she was rescued by the shelter, and was very skittish, especially around men. In the three-and-a-half weeks since Gurly went to Hiland, Perry said, the dog has improved significantly, and happily greets men and women alike.

&#8220She's a really good dog,” Perry said. &#8220She's smart. She knows down, sit; she's learning roll over. She knows shake. We're learning stand.”

Perry said she wanted to be part of SPOT because it was an opportunity to give back to the community. She has been incarcerated for about three years for a Palmer burglary that turned into a homicide, and Perry said she recently graduated from the prison's substance-abuse program. She was ready to try something meaningful, and said she has benefited.

&#8220She's helped me with my patience,” Perry said of Gurly. &#8220She's helped me to be nurturing to something. I was very selfish before. The life I led was drugs and violence.”

Gurly didn't have a particularly good life before Hiland either. Allison said Gurly and Max were abandoned - left tied up in the back yard when their owners moved away. Both dogs were filthy, neglected and unwanted, and the owners have been cited for cruelty.

Now, Gurly's white fur is sparkling clean, set off recently by a festive gold bow Perry tied to the dog's collar, and Gurly's blue eyes are alert and friendly. Max, a husky that prisoners nicknamed &#8220Stinky” when he first arrived due to the stench that clung to his matted fur, now sports a gorgeous white-and-gray coat, cleaned and groomed by his handlers, Brandy Price and Diana Waggy.

Waggy said Max was wild for attention when he first arrived at Hiland, and couldn't walk on a leash at all.

&#8220You could tell he was just left outside and nobody paid attention to him,” said Price. &#8220Now he's really blooming.”

Price, a Wasilla resident finishing a methamphetamine-related sentence, said she wanted to help give dogs like Max a second chance to find a family. Waggy said she signed onto SPOT for more selfish reasons.

&#8220I've been in jail 11 years and haven't pet a dog,” she said. Since the dogs arrived, &#8220staff said they see a change in me. I smile more.”

Winona Fletcher and Tamara Riley were all smiles, too, as they watched Otis gnaw on a soggy rawhide strip in the prison's ball field. Both inmates have been incarcerated for more than 20 years each, and Fletcher said it's nice to have an opportunity to take care of something.

Riley said she'll miss Otis - a goofy 4-year-old Labrador-mastiff mix - when he graduates the program, but compared it to making friends in jail and then watching them leave for a better life.

&#8220You're happy for them,” said Riley.

Both hope Otis will end up in a good home, but cautioned that the large, short-hair dog can be a little stubborn.

&#8220It's a matter of getting him to understand he's not the boss,” said Fletcher.

On a smaller scale is Bilbo, a border collie-whippet mix that was, literally, a bag of bones when he arrived at the shelter. Allison said Bilbo had been locked up, ignored and starved. He said Bilbo couldn't even lift his head when he first arrived.

On a sunny morning last week, Bilbo relaxed on the grass, friendly, bright-eyed and happy with his handlers, Kathleen Colbert and Michelle Philman.

The two said Bilbo not only is healthier since he came to Hiland, he's also improved in temperament. Bilbo was very timid with people and aggressive with other dogs.

He's better now around female dogs, but still has issues with male canines, said Philman. In the time he has left with the program, Colbert said, &#8220I think he will eventually get along with whoever.”

Sammy, a female Rottweiler-husky-Labrador mix, likely has a home waiting when she finishes training with Heather Bosveld and Jenna Herrman. Herrman's parents in Kenai plan to adopt Sammy, based on Herrman's recommendation. If it works out, the 1-year-old dog will go to a home with six children.

Allison said the SPOT program works for everybody involved. It gives the animals skills that potential adoptive homes want, and it gives the inmates a psychological boost.

Amy Rabeau, assistant superintendent at Hiland, said the program is good for all the inmates, not just the handlers.

&#8220A lot of them have been down for a long time,” she said. &#8220They haven't pet a dog in a long time.”

Trainer Hagen, who breeds Rottweilers at her Stone Ridge Kennels and is the former assistant superintendent at Palmer Correctional Center, said the dogs and the inmates all are doing well in the SPOT program.

&#8220It's just amazing what a little bit of training and a little love does,” she said. &#8220These dogs are so starved for attention and love, so interested in wanting to be with people and learn, that they're just like little sponges. You can teach a dog at any age … it just takes time. These prisoners have time.”

Contact Leila Kheiry at

352-2270 or at leila.kheiry@ frontiersman.com