Prison Puppies

Prison Puppies

by Meish Goldish
5/5 stars
Reviewer: Roberta

Summary: This is a factual book about the PBB (Puppies Behind Bars) program .  This is a program where a prison inmate raises puppies that later work as service dogs.  They get the puppies at about eight weeks old and raise them for about 18 months.  They spend all their time with the inmate trainers, sleeping in their cell and going to their prison job with them.  The only thing they can’t do is eat with them because they are not allowed in the prison cafeteria.

     Gloria Gilbert Stoga, who worked for the mayor’s off ice in New York city started the program because there were not enough people around to train service dogs.  She thought prison inmates could do the job.  At first people were afraid the inmates would treat the dogs badly or train them to attack prison guards.  But in 1997, Gloria was allowed to test the program starting with inmates raising 5 dogs for 18 months. 2 became service dogs.  With that PBB got started rolling.

     To take part in the program, inmates must have good records in prison, do reading assignments and homework, take tests and be trained on how to be a trainer.  All dogs used are either Labradors or Retrievers.  Puppies learn basic things like “heel” and “sit” but also learn how to open doors, turn lights on and get bottles from refrigerators.

     Do the puppies ever get to leave the prison?  Volunteers take the puppies in the outside world on buses and subways and on streets and in malls so that they get used to being in the outside world where they will be service dogs.

     PBB dogs serve as service dogs to blind and disabled people.  In 2006, they started being trained for veterans coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan who had post-traumatic stress disorder. Some PBB dogs are trained to become bomb sniffing dogs.

     The PBB puppies help the inmates also.  They learn to be patient and to be responsible for something besides themselves.  They are also contributing to society by training the dogs.  It’s a program that works for everyone.

Review:  As I passed this book on display, the title appalled me.  Thinking of dogs being in prison was not a very happy idea for me.  But I was amazed by this book and how the prison inmates raised the puppies to be service animals. The book was fascinating and had color photographs of the dogs with the inmates and also working as service dogs.  I recommend this book for any dog lover, particularly those with an interest in service dogs.