‘Pups on Parole’ program offers offenders, dogs a second chance

When Matthew Brown first came to the Newton Correctional Facility’s minimum-security wing, he didn’t really have a sense of how a certain program was going to change his outlook.

Brown now has a stronger understanding, he said, of what it takes to care for another living being — and what it takes for a community to get along well.

Last week, the facility’s warden, Terry Mapes, allowed the Newton Daily News inside the facility, including a dorm-style housing area, to get a glimpse of how offenders involved with the “Pups on Parole” program live and work with dogs they’re training and rehabilitating for adoption.

“There’s no doubt, working with these dogs and these guys has helped change how I see things,” Brown, who is set to leave the facility soon, said. “I’ve had mixed emotions about seeing the dogs move on, knowing they’re getting homes, but also sad to see them go. We’ve come to care and love every single one that comes through here.”

The Pups on Parole program, established in 2009, recently celebrated its 300th adoption in its history. It’s a collaboration between the Correctional Release Center (the complex of the Newton facility that houses minimum-security offenders about to be paroled) and the Jasper County Animal Rescue League and Humane Society.

“We were a bit apprehensive before we started the program,” Deputy Warden Jill Dursky said. “But this has turned out to have the most calming effect on a unit. It helps the morale of both the offenders and the staff, and makes everything a little more easy-going.”

Brown is the current mentor, as one of the offenders who has been working with the dogs the longest. He’s been at CRC for about 22 months, which is longer than most offenders are at the high-turnover facility. He’ll be handing over the reins to Paul Warner, one of 15 offenders whose full-time “jobs” at the prison is to complete an eight-week basic obedience training for dogs brought in by the rescue league staff.

“Pups on Parole is a valuable program for JCARL,” JCARL director, Sarah Siperstein said. “It allows us to care for and house more dogs that our building has space for and gives a second chance for dogs who would otherwise be considered unadoptable. The one-on-one training these dogs receive gives them a chance to get out of the shelter environment and make them better adoption candidates.”

The program also sends crews of offenders — eligible to work off-site in a day work-release setting — to help work side-by-side with the JCARL staff at its Newton facility.

“The program is crucial to the  mission and function of JCARL and we couldn’t do it without them,” Siperstein said.

Mapes said the program is only for pro-social, positive offenders who are actively working toward re-entry into society. Convictions that involve domestic violence or crimes involving animals would disqualify an offender from the program.

Richelle Seitz, the program’s coordinator, said pit bull breeds aren’t considered, because of how some people view the breed. She said the process begins when JCARL recommends a dog be brought from the shelter for about eight weeks worth of obedience training.

Each dog is matched up with one of the 15 offenders who are paid a small salary (less than 50 cents per hour) to care for the animals and train them to respond to basic commands. There are also about 35 more of CRC’s 360 offenders who volunteer to help with the dogs.

Last week, in the dorm, some of the dogs could respond to commands, while others seemed a bit too excited by having a visitor in the area to respond to directions. However, all of the animals seemed mostly friendly and well-adjusted, and none seemed threatened or bothered by a visitor.

“Just as not all offenders are suited for this program, some dogs won’t work well here,” Seitz said. “There are some that are simply too aggressive, or don’t do well with other dogs or in certain situations.”

Dursky said there are considerations for having some offenders in Newton’s medium-security unit work with the dogs as well. The trainee dogs would have to be kept out of sight and earshot of the corrections canines that work the facility.

A corrections department wouldn’t typically offer this type of program to a “lifer” who is in prison for life; it’s intended to be a part of a greater re-entry process.

There were 63 adoptions of dogs from Pups on Parole in 2011, and 75 in 2012, but largely, the numbers have been closer to about 35 per year. There have been 26 so far in 2015.

The program has gone through some changes in the six years that it’s been around. Mapes joked that there was initially an attempt to limit it to dogs of a certain size or smaller, but now the rule is “no bigger than, say, a horse.”

A “leader dog” program at the Newton CRC was recently discontinued. From 2009 until June of this year, offenders trained dogs to work with the blind, sending a total of 63 dogs into the Rochester, Mich. community that had sent the animals to Iowa for training. The leader dog program is now the exclusive responsibility of the Fort Dodge Correctional Facility.

Seitz said getting to know what the dog will do in the program is tough, but it usually doesn’t take long to see what their issues might be.

“For the first 48 hours a dog is here, they wear a sort of ‘don’t touch me’ scarf that lets others know not to approach them yet,” Seitz said. “We can see if the animal cowers, cringes, lashes out or seems depressed.”

Many shelter dogs were surrendered by owners who couldn’t or didn’t care for them properly, so it isn’t surprising for the 15 caretakers to have to work on both physical and psychological issues. Administering medicine and monitoring weight and diet are just part of the job.

There is a gymnasium and some outdoor spaces that allow the offenders to help train the dogs. The CRC is a facility that is for offenders who have privileges not typical at higher-level secure facilities.

One of the dogs, named Hayse, can launch a treat that is resting on its snout, and catch it in midair.

Brown said he’s grateful for the chance to mentor others in Pups on Parole, and for having been exposed to so many dedicated, loyal dogs.

“It definitely has helped make me a better person,” Brown said.

Contact Jason W. Brooks at 641-792-3121 ext. 6532 or jbrooks@newtondailynews.com