Gents Canine Society

* Anyone know the dogs name?

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* Avail @ PrideDog.com

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Hi…I’m Kobey-Rose. Keep smiling!

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Carmen was never happier than when she went to the Maine Correctional Center a month ago. She found a warm bed there, regular meals and lots of love and attention. The prison proved a much better home than the one she had in Limington, where she and 18 other beagles lived neglected and starved.
She and the other beagles were rescued from squalor on Feb. 4. Some were placed with a New England beagle rescue group, and seven were taken in by the Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland.
Three of those beagles, including Carmen, entered the Paws in Stripes program, which places puppies and kittens with inmates. Now Carmen’s tail rarely stops wagging.
“It’s getting me through my time,” said her cellmate and primary caregiver, Christopher Webber, who is in the prison after revocation of his probation. “It gives me a companion. It just feels pretty good having a dog.”
The partnership is working at prisons all over the country, where programs range from simple foster care of young animals to inmates training dogs for disabled people.
Susan Britt, director of the animal shelter, knew there would be tricky details to work out before starting the program in October, but she said the idea was too good to let go.
“It’s a structured life here, and dogs do well with structure,” she said. “This is the best they’ve ever known it. They don’t know this is prison. This is their home. They’re just getting incredible time and attention. No one’s leaving for work eight hours a day.”
Her biggest concern before committing to the program was the animals’ safety. “I wanted to make sure nothing would be done to an animal out of frustration or impatience or malice,” Britt said. “That’s anything from raising their voice to pulling their tails.”
Enter Penny Bailey, who oversees security and programs for medium-security prisoners.
The inmates and the animals live in Bailey’s unit. She eased Britt’s worst fears by setting strict guidelines.
The only inmates who may participate in the program are those who earn it by following the rules, remaining discipline-free, exhibiting a positive attitude and being involved in other correctional programs.
Put the two together and it equals what inmate Timothy Duncan said is a program without a single negative aspect.
Duncan has been matched with two dogs. The most recent was Archie, a shepherd mix that is full of energy.
Duncan taught Archie to sit and house-trained him. Inmates in the program have access to the jail courtyard during the day for puppy potty breaks.
It was clear during a visit this week how much each has given the other. Archie’s tail never stopped wagging when Duncan was near. Duncan seemed relaxed and cheerful as he talked about the puppy.
“It takes the jail out of jail,” said Duncan, who is serving a seven-year sentence for burglary.
That is why this and similar programs are applauded around the nation. The puppies and kittens win because they get constant, one-on-one attention, which in turn makes them more sociable and adoptable.
The inmates, meanwhile, get a friend.
“It gives them a living entity to interact with that cares for them. Perhaps they haven’t had that in their lives,” said David Frie, director of communications for Delta Society, a national group that supports the therapeutic use of animals. “We know instinctively that when you interact with a dog or cat, you feel better. It changes the energy in the room.”
Usually, there are four puppies or eight kittens at the prison, assigned to four primary handlers. Four other inmates are chosen as assistants to take over when the primary caregiver is away from the cell block. Britt said puppies were chosen over dogs because they need socialization and house training, not behavioral adjustment.
The Limington beagles, which are all grown dogs, are an exception to the puppy rule.
Kittens were selected over cats because, as any cat lover knows, cats are prone to wandering. Bailey said the inmates have a clear understanding that “it is not their pet. They are providing a community service to the Animal Refuge League.”
Most animals stay a little more than a month, until the shelter has space or, even better, a permanent home.
Carmen was scheduled to begin living with her adoptive family today. Including Carmen, five of the seven beagles taken in by the Animal Refuge League have found permanent homes.
The remaining two dogs, Sid and Dragon, remain at the prison.
Webber knew that saying goodbye to his first Paws in Stripes dog would be hard. Despite his best efforts, he became attached to Carmen.
He finds comfort, however, in knowing that the little beagle, which would not even wag her tail on the day they met, now knows what it is like to be loved. So does Webber. “She takes care of me more than I take care of her,” he said.

* With thanks to Andrew @ The Daily Dish. Beagle photo Wikipedia.

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PUPPY

POLAR BEAR CUB

* Which is cuter?

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* Check out NathanExposed.com

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Rodent Poison Found in Now-Recalled Pet Food Blamed for Animal Deaths.
* Details here.

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Chihuahuas Boo Boo, Chico, and Teddy and bulldogs Chloe and Zizi are about to hit the big time as Elle Woods’s doggy brood in the Broadway production of Legally Blonde. Bill Berloni, animal trainer to the stars since Annie’s Sandy in 1977, spoke with Arianne Cohen for NY MAGAZINE.

How do you cast canines?
The director wanted a bulldog that a 98-pound actress could carry, so I had to find the smallest stunted females alive. I found Chloe, who is 42 pounds, and her understudy, Zizi, 38 pounds.

Why do you use shelter dogs?
I can’t say, “Will you sign your great Chihuahua over to me and never see it again?” With so many homeless animals, the chances of finding a perfect shelter dog are very good.

What don’t theater people get about animal actors?
You have a writer who’s seen a lot of movies and doesn’t know how difficult it is to make these tricks happen. Here, they wanted Chico to pull open a shower curtain with her teeth, the way Toto reveals the wizard. Have you looked closely at that scene? The curtain is tied to Toto’s collar.

What can Chico do?
For the opening, Chico runs onstage and tells the sorority girls where Elle is. So they say, “Where’s Elle?” And he barks, back and forth, five times. He also jumps into a bag and licks, all to actor hand signals.

What happens when the actors forget to give the cue?
Dogs don’t have the cognitive process to think, I’ll cover. They walk offstage to the trainer and say, “What do we do?”

Where do the dogs retire?
Well, I have sixteen house dogs.

Why do you prefer stage to film?
I don’t pursue a lot of movie work because the animals are treated as props. You could go see a movie where the dog’s the main character, and the trainer is credited below the caterers.

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* Thanks to The Sartorialist.com

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