Dog daycare in B.C. women's prison helps inmates get through guilt, humiliation

By all accounts, Chilko and Riley are well behaved and haven't been convicted of any crimes,yet every day they end up behind the razor wire and heavily fortified wallsof a federal prison.

Chilko,a border collie-cross, and Riley,a golden retriever, are part of of a program called theDoghouse, a dog daycare and kennel inside a women's prison in Abbotsford,B.C.,where inmates look afterdogs while their owners are away at work.

"Chilko ended up coming to jail when my husband and I adopted him in 2011," saysJanine Luce, who comes throughthe security gates and into the prison lobby for a handovertwice a day.

She says Chilko was rescued from northern B.C. and adopted from an animal shelter in Langley,so it's fitting he's now spending his days with women who are looking for their own fresh starts.

"I feel like rescued dogs know they've been given a second chance and behave accordingly, and the ladies that are here are also working towards a second chance," Luce says.

"I think maybe they have a bond."

'They don't know the horrible crime I did'

Ellen Dennettagrees. She is serving a life sentence at the Fraser Valley Institutionfor Women for second-degree murderand was selected to participate in the Doghouse program because of hergood behaviour as an inmate.

"They don't look at you as an inmate," says Dennett, 63. "They don't know the horrible crime I did. They love you just the way you are.The good stuff, the bad stuff, they don't care."

Dennettwas convicted in March 2013 after the elderly woman she was caring for was found deadin her Montreal home.

It gets me through the guilt, the grieving, the humiliation of my family.- Ellen Dennett, inmate and Doghouseparticipant

Dennett says taking care of the dogs has helped her accept the harm she's caused to hervictim's familyas well asher own.

"Just to come in here every day and take care of these guys, it gets me through the guilt, the grieving, the humiliation of my family."

Skills to take back to the outside

More than 150 women prisoners have worked in the Doghouse program in the decade since the Langley Animal Protection Society (LAPS)partnered with Corrections Canada on the project. The latterprovides the space and facilities, but staff say the program is otherwise revenue neutral.

LAPS handlesday-to-day operations, and pet owners pay $18 a day cheaper than the going rate at many private facilities.

"Whatever we can do to facilitate people's successful release back into the community adds to public safety," saysChris Szafron, assistant warden at the facility.

"The more general skills they learnworking with others, positive interactionswith the community those are skills they can take back and apply in any field."

That connection with a dog opened up her heart.- Alicia Santella, Doghouse program manager

Program manager Alicia Santella has an office on the prison grounds and supervisesthe inmates.

"All day long, from 7 in the morning until 9 at night, these women are feeding, exercising, scooping poop, washing muddy paws. And they work really, really hard," she says.

They're learning work ethic skills that can be applied to any job, she says."I've had 14 women leave this program and go and work specifically in the industry. They're doing well for themselves."

Santella says many of the inmates she encounters have had difficult lives, and the dogs have provided a kind of unqualified love they've rarely experienced.

Santella describesone conversation with an inmate who had a dog boarding with her for a while:"She said to me, 'Alicia, I've never loved anyone as much as I loved that dog.' That connection with a dog opened up her heart and her point of view and her ideas."

The power to heal

The Nova Institution for Women in Trurois the only other federal women's prison with a dog program, though the focus there is on training assistance dogs.

The women's prison in Edmonton is also planninga program that teaches prisoners dog-grooming skills.

Catherine Latimer, executive director of the national John Howard Society, says she's a firm believer in the power of animal therapy for prisoners.

"Dogs have a remarkably strong impact on people,"Latimer says, and they can help foster "soft skills" such as being in a trusting relationship."Being exposed to a situation where prisoners learn empathy is important."

Dennett, who will be eligible forpartial parole in 2018and full parole in 2021,believes dog "therapy" has set her on a path out of prison one that will leadto a kinder, calmer life after and helped her come to terms with her crime.

"I'm responsible for two families that are not ... adjusting very well," she says,pausingto compose herself.

"I know we're not supposed to have a good time, that we're not supposed to laugh with the dogs, but that's why this is here to help us cope with what we've done and to get back on track, and to move on with whatever life I have left."

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