Prison puppies help ease the pain

COMPANIONS: Prison inmates meet their new pups at the start of his 16-month training sentence in Borallon Correctional Centre as part ofAssistance Dogs Australia Pups in Prison program.

Rob Williams

WHEN Kris was sentenced to life in prison, he didn’t expect to spend the long and lonely nights cuddled up to a 10-week-old labrador pup named Oxley.

But yesterday little Oxley and three other pups trotted into Ipswich’s Borallon Correctional Centre to begin their training as assistance dogs with eight maximum-security prisoners.

It is the first time such a program has run in an Australian maximum security prison.

The offenders will teach the dogs basic obedience commands to prepare them for helping people with a disability in the outside world.

Tasks they will be taught include opening doors, fetching phones and mail, alert barking on command if the person is in trouble, picking up dropped items and even paying the cashier at shops.

Kris, 29, will share the task of raising Oxley with Matthew, a fellow lifer, and a corrections officer.

He said the opportunity to be part of the program was the best thing he had done.

“Over the years in jail normal emotions such as love and affection are suppressed,” Kris said.

“For the first time in years it allows me to show some tenderness. Caring for these dogs will help us rekindle those feelings and help us lighten up.

“It will bring just a little more humanity into our lives.

“Instead of taking from society it provides us with the chance to give back.”

Redbank Plains volunteer Anne Forrest will enter the prison once a week to help the men learn how to care for the dogs.

Assistance Dogs Australia “top dog” Richard Lord said the program aimed to reduce re-offending behaviour and gives the men valuable work skills and training.

“Eventually the dog they trained will change the life of someone with a physical disability,” he said.

“Each dog costs about $25,000 to train, so they’re very valuable little beings. There is a huge demand for them.”