Inmates at the Maryland Correctional Institution are seeing their
babies graduate - three dogs the inmates have raised to be service animals for
veterans.
Inmates applaud the latest graduates as their dogs wait quietly on the floor of the north dorm where the program was held. Most inmates could not be photographed. (WTOP/Megan Cloherty)
WTOP/Megan Cloherty
Inmate Kent Brewer pets his dog, Trooper, who he has taken care of for more than a year. After graduation, Trooper will head to New York for further training with the America's Vet Dogs program before he is placed with a veteran in need. (WTOP/Megan Cloherty)
WTOP/Megan Cloherty
Delta's other handler holds her leash during the graduation ceremony. Both he and inmate Terry Dorsey say the event reminds them they don't have much time left before Delta has to leave. (WTOP/Megan Cloherty)
WTOP/Megan Cloherty
The first class of dogs arrived at the prison in October 2012. The inmates built a training area for them outside and are responsible for taking care of and cleaning up after their dog. (WTOP/Megan Cloherty)
WTOP/Megan Cloherty
Inmate Kent Brewer holds Trooper, or has he calls him, Sgt. Trooper's, leash as he's interviewed by a reporter before the dog's graduation on Thursday, October 24. (WTOP/Megan Cloherty)
WTOP/Megan Cloherty
''It's almost like they're learning to love a child that they've never done before. They're learning to take care of something,'' says warden Wayne Webb of the inmates participating in the program. (WTOP/Megan Cloherty)
WTOP/Megan Cloherty
A gloomy day at the Maryland Corrections Institute in Hagerstown, Md., but a minivan of untrained service puppies arrives to cheer things up inside. (WTOP/Megan Cloherty)
WTOP/Megan Cloherty
The inmates house the dogs in their open cells during the week. Sunshine shows off her crate in her handler's area. (WTOP/Megan Cloherty)
WTOP/Megan Cloherty
Delta is about to meet a whole new class of puppies coming into the Maryland Corrections Institute in Hagerstown, Md. on Thursday, October 24. (WTOP/Megan Cloherty)
WTOP/Megan Cloherty
Delta shows off her latest skill she's learned, ''sleep.'' She picks things up in a snap, Dorsey says. (WTOP/Megan Cloherty)
WTOP/Megan Cloherty
Delta has two handlers, one of them is Terry Dorsey. He describes her as a ham. She's energetic and loves people, he says. (WTOP/Megan Cloherty)
WTOP/Megan Cloherty
Inmates created a wall for their first three classes of America's Vet Dogs. Three of the dogs from the top row graduated October 24. Delta's puppy picture is to the far right, middle. (WTOP/Megan Cloherty)
WTOP/Megan Cloherty
''You cant ask for more than this. I mean, to be incarcerated and to have a dog. Man, no matter how bad my day is, that dog is always wagging its tail, you know what I mean? It's never sad,'' inmate and dog handler Terry Dorsey says. (WTOP/Megan Cloherty)
WTOP/Megan Cloherty
When the program started, some of the trainees got a little bored. (WTOP/Megan Cloherty)
WTOP/Megan Cloherty
''Being a vet and helping other vets, that was the biggest reason for me,'' explains inmate Terry Dorsey on his choice to be a service dog handler. (WTOP/Megan Cloherty)
WTOP/Megan Cloherty
Chip and Jackpot are brothers and in the second class of the America's Vet Dogs program, set to graduate next year. (WTOP/Megan Cloherty)
WTOP/Megan Cloherty
Chip, a service dog in training, poses for a picture with one of his handlers nearby. Most inmates could not be photographed. (WTOP/Megan Cloherty)
HAGERSTOWN, Md. – Inmates at the Maryland Correctional Institution are seeing their babies graduate – three dogs the inmates have raised to be service animals for veterans.
It’s a bittersweet day for Kent Brewer seeing his dog, Trooper, graduate. He’s trained the black lab for over a year.
“Trooper has been my friend. It’s going to be hard to see him go,” Brewer says, getting emotional.
Brewer says that before he became a dog handler he was unsure of how he was spending his life, his time in prison.
Incarcerated since 1995, the former Coast Guard veteran says being able to give back and help another veteran in need gives his life purpose.
Working with America’s Vet Dogs program, two inmates are assigned as handlers to a dog – teaching them the essential commands required of a service animal.
“Right now he can open refrigerators, pick up a raw egg and hand it to you. He’s what they call a soft-mouth dog. He opens doors, push buttons, turns on lights and gives you companionship,” Brewer says of Trooper.
The idea of bringing dogs into a prison was not instantly welcomed, but Warden Wayne Webb says the dogs have changed the environment in the medium – security prison.
“It’s almost like they’re learning to love a child that they’ve never done before,” Webb says. “They’re learning to take care of something.”
Inmates show what the graduating dogs can do
The inmates chosen to participate in the program are among the best behaved in the facility and have earned a place in the north dorm. Inmates there have a more relaxed lifestyle and access to the outdoors.
“The inmate population here is pretty much in honor housing, so they have the ability to take the dogs in and out as they need to be,” Webb says.
“The dogs aren’t confined to a cell.”
Inmates are selected to be service dog handlers by the prison staff. They cannot have any disciplinary reports on their record and have to be somewhat active, says Andrew Rubenstein with America’s Vet Dogs.
“Each prison goes through a different qualification process. Once they pick the pool of inmates we want to participate in the program, we have our local trainer come down and do a Q and A with them,” Rubenstein says.
In this way, the dogs’ safety is considered, he says.
During the weekends, volunteers take the dogs home to expose them to everyday situations such as going to the mall, a park, church or the grocery store and practicing their skills there. More volunteers are needed.
Three dogs graduated Thursday. The next graduating class will leave the prison in February.
