From today’s New York Times, “For the Battle-Scarred, Comfort at Leash’s End“:
[…] In August, Jacob Hyde got his service dog, Mya, from Puppies Behind Bars, a program based in New York State that uses prisoners to raise and train dogs for lives of service. The organization has placed 23 dogs with veterans with P.T.S.D. in the last two years, training them to obey 87 different commands.
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“If I didn’t have legs, I would have to crawl around,” said Mr. Hyde, 25. “If I didn’t have Mya, I wouldn’t be able to leave the house.”
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If Mr. Hyde says “block,” the dog will stand perpendicularly in front of him to keep other people at a distance. If he asks Mya to “get his back,” the dog will sit facing backward by his side.
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The dogs are trained to jolt a soldier from a flashback, dial 911 on a phone and even sense a panic attack before it starts. And, perhaps most important, the veterans’ sense of responsibility, optimism and self-awareness is renewed by caring for the dogs.
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The dogs help soldiers understand “what’s happening as it’s happening, what to do about it, and then doing it,” said Joan Esnayra, a geneticist whose research team has received $300,000 from the Defense Department to study the issue. “You can use your dog kind of like a mirror to reflect back your emotional tenor.”
[…] Under a bill written by Senator Al Franken, Democrat of Minnesota, veterans with P.T.S.D. will get service dogs as part of a pilot program run by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Training a psychiatric service dog and pairing it with a client costs more than $20,000. The government already helps provide dogs to soldiers who lost their sight or were severely wounded in combat, but had never considered placing dogs for emotional damage…
While it’s not the focus of this article, these service dogs are helping rescue two sets of lost human souls. My dog guru in the Midwest helped start a different program to pair “throw-away” shelter dogs with… well, “throw-away” humans in the prison system, selected prisoners who earn a coveted slot for schooling as dog groomers and trainers. She thought that after twenty years of dog rescue, she’d be immune to horror stories, but it breaks her heart all over again to find out how many people have never known anything but coercion, force, and threats in their lives. Thank Goddess for dogs, who forgive.
(Photo swiped, with permission, from commentor Yutsano‘s Flicker; hat tip to commentor Mai Naem for the article)
SiubhanDuinne
It all brings tears — the photo, the article, and your story about “throw-away” dogs and people.
Violet
Awesome program. So glad to see prisoners get to work with puppies and help returning military folks too. Win-win-win. Programs like this should be in every prison system. Just think of how many people and animals would benefit.
licensed to kill time
What a great story. I like the fact that dogs are being used to help soldiers heal. I have been disturbed by stories about traumatized dogs coming back from war duty and this helps to balance that out.
And YAY for Al Franken!
ETA – funny that this post came with the header “a dingo ate my baby” for me ;-)
WereBear
Al Franken is doing so many humanitarian things. There’s an argument for cloning. Why can’t more legislators do this?
There’s something about seeing an animal bounce back that lets a human see that they can, too.
furioso ateo
So that’s the picture Yutsano tried to show me.
This sounds like a badass program, I hope they keep it going and expand it.
asiangrrlMN
This is a beautiful, heartwarming/breaking story (yes, both at the same time), and the picture sums it up nicely. It really is a win for everyone involved.
P.S. And hell yeah! That’s my senator. Man, I am inordinately proud of him.
Linda Featheringill
Beautiful story.
I do medical transcription, including PTSD evaluations for one of the VA hospitals. Some REALLY SAD STORIES there.
A dog would be wonderful. I don’t know if having the puppy would change the eventual outcome for these soldiers but it certainly would make every day better.
And I think I will send an email to Senator Al Franken and tell him what a wonderful idea this is!
Perry Como
Not to hijack but… This is a great program if anyone has the ability to do it. You adopt a dog for a service member while he or she is overseas.
John O
Awwwwwwwwww. That “man’s best friend” thing is no joke.
Thanks for that one, AL.
And Happy Easter or whatever it is you’re celebrating, to all, or not.
(Why not Al? I’d vote for him in a heartbeat, because I’ve read all of his stuff and think he’s a good, smart human being. Plus he’s funny.)
Linda Featheringill
I sent an email of praise to Senator Al Franken. Good deeds should be recognized.
Mnemosyne
I ended up reading an issue of Ladies’ Home Journal while I was stuck at the mechanic’s yesterday and they had a really good story about a family who adopted their son’s military dog after their son was killed in Iraq. It’s sad, but a really great story.
Loneoak
I, of course, rooted for Franken to win. But I had no idea that he has such a great eye for humane, reasonable, creative interventions in downtrodden people’s lives. Maybe it takes a comedian’s brain to focus in on the cruel absurdities of our society that we become inured to.
JD Rhoades
Good dog. GOOD dog.
TuiMel
My take on Franken is that he is very smart – much smarter than he is funny (to my sense of humor). But, the surprise for me was that he has a very compassionate soul. I love to see him forging ahead with ideas that make a positive difference in the lives of people who could use some support / help.
asiangrrlMN
Mnemosyne, that story has me in tears. Thank you for sharing it.
Silver
Who’s paying for these dogs? Sounds like you and me.
Smells like S-O-C-I-A-L-I-S-M, doesn’t it?
PurpleGirl
Not to hijack the thread or view the story in a negative light because it’s really very good. But I wonder if people doing dog grooming need a state license or certification of some sort and if these are denied people who have a felony conviction in their past. At one time NYS trained prisoners to become barbers and beauticians. The absurd downside was that to actually work as a barber or beautician the person had to get a license and they didn’t license someone who had felony convictions and had served time in prison.
And I do really like these types of programs and what they do to help both the disabled person and the prisoners but I worry about the absurdities that can arise between two agencies.
gil mann
I was thinking more along the lines of BOO for all those ossified dipshits who apparently see the Senate as an Elks lodge with better perks, but yeah, I like yours better.
He really is kicking ass at his job (between this and his work on the Reminding Motherfuckers That Rape Ain’t Legal Even If She’s Wearing Camo Act, the members of the Committee on Armed Services oughtta be ashamed of themselves). A few more bills like this and I’ll forgive him for those song parodies on his radio show.
Okay, a few hundred more bills like this.
Phoebe
I saw a dvd last week [netflix], What I Want My Words To Do To You, which is about a writing workshop in a women’s prison, and one of the inmates in the program was a Puppies Behind Bars trainer, and she talks about that, and it’s heartwarming/breaking as hell. The whole movie is, actually. It’s great.
And I knew Al Franken was compassionate after reading the Stuart Smalley book, “I’m Good Enough, I’m Smart Enough, And Doggone It, People Like Me.” Which is also extremely funny. Please do not watch the movie version [“Stuart Saves His Family” I think] because it’s no good at all. The fabulousness just doesn’t translate, like with “Art School Confidential” by Dan Clowes. You’d think you’d be golden with the people adapting their own stuff [and you were, with Ghost World] but no no no no.
ellaesther
I read this yesterday and was so deeply moved by it. My love for Al Franken grows on a nearly daily basis, it seems.
One thing the piece doesn’t even mention, interestingly, is the impact that training these and other service dogs has on the inmates who train them. I’ve read elsewhere that the bond between the trainer and the dog, as well as the very clear fact that the inmate has achieved a very palpable social good with his or her time in prison, is enormously important in their rehabilitation process as well.
So, at last count, that makes this a win-win-win-win situation — win for the vet, win for the inmate, win for society in that it returns one of our members to us, and win for the government’s budget because health and productivity are always cheaper than a lifetime of the opposite.
Oh, and one can only presume, win for the doggies! That’s five wins!
Bob K
If the “buddy at my back” is Glenn Beck, than thanks but no thanks – I’ll think I’ll just pull that pin on the grenade and see what happens.
http://www.campusprogress.org/page/community/post/CJefferson/CqS5
LuciaMia
These are the people (and dogs) who are really going to heaven.
gil mann
Stuart Saves His Family is one of the best SNL movies ever made, head and shoulders above all of ’em except Blues Brothers and Wayne’s World. Not that I’m disagreeing with your assessment, mind.
jeffreyw
Dog stories always get to me. First dog story I can remember was either Balto, the dog that delivered the vaccine in Alaska or Old Yeller. The story of Hachikō is one from Japan. For every “Cujo” there must be a thousand Baltos. There is a reason that loyalty is considered a bedrock canine trait. Humans? Not so much.
Bob K
I must say that I’ve known more dogs and cats that are better, kinder, more decent individuals than most humans tend to be.
TuiMel
Any doubt that the inmates benefit?
http://www.puppiesbehindbars.com/about.asp
ellaesther
@ TuiMel Thank you!
This is what I referred to above, and yet it didn’t even occur to me to spend 2 seconds on the Google to find a reference.
TuiMel
@ellaesther
Your comment inspired me to take a look..
arguingwithsignposts
Just curious, but wasn’t there a photo there earlier?
ruemara
Thank you for posting some good news. It’s hard to fathom what a balm it is to the soul to see programs-government programs-working to help people.
WereBear
How does it cost 20k to train a psychological assistance dog? I’ve googled a bit, and even with some one on one fine tuning when the dog and their patient finally meet, I’m not seeing those kInds of numbers. What am I missing?
dr. bloor
Since this has Franken’s name attached to it, this is a complete waste of money, right up there with volcano research.
/Your Modern Republican Party
bkny
i suspect the costs of the separate facility to house the prisoners while training the dogs, then the dog food, vet bills, etc. you can bet every chew toy is budgeted for (prolly a couple of times … ;-)
Phoebe
Definitely click on the audio slideshow from the nyt article if you haven’t.
And gil mann: I really liked the Coneheads movie.
TuiMel
I’m not seeing those kInds of numbers. What am I missing?
Rhetorical question? Because without knowing what you’re included based upon “Googling a bit,” it would be pretty tough to chime in about what other costs might be.
WereBear
@bony. I’m sure you’re right. Even with shelter dogs and prisoner/volunteers, there’s facility costs and so forth.
Nothing a dog likes better than having a job to do.
Dave C
OT: Whoa, we just had a pretty strong earthquake here in San Diego. Didn’t knock anything over that I know of, but definitely the strongest I’ve felt since moving here 6 year ago!
Martin
6.9 earthquake in Baja. Nice long roller here in OC – at least 30 seconds. No damage, but it got the lights swinging pretty good.
In the US, Yuma and Mexicali would have felt it the strongest.
burnspbesq
@Dave C:
Preliminary reading is that it’s a 6.9, epicenter south of Mexicali. That could do major damage in Imperial County. We felt it in OC.
Calvin Jones and the 13th Apostle
arguingwithsignposts @ 29:
Yes. You aren’t the only one wondering what happened to it.
burnspbesq
preliminary data from USGS:
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/ci14607652.php
Mary G
I’m in OC too, must be bad in Mexicali & Tijuana. A really long duration, too.
SiubhanDuinne
O/T major earthquake in California
SiubhanDuinne
Late to the party :-(
Hope everyone is okay and safe
demkat620
@TuiMel
I read that story on CNN about a month ago. I cried. Such a good outcome for the puppies and the people.
bkny
#35 — the times has a photo of a trainer in his room with his pooch in a dog cage. it’s clearly a separate facility — and that would require all kinds of facility/security/pooch supplies/etc costs.
it’s a nice story; i’d like to see the nyt follow up with one on the impact on the trainers. i would think it’s equally profound.
demkat620
Thoughts and prayers for those in the earthquake zone. Are we in a pattern of high activity?
MattR
@bkny – the times did a story about a group of female inmate dog trainers in 2008 (link)
and
Mike in NC
Was stationed at NAB Coronado way back in ’81 and woke up in the middle of the night one time to feel the entire room vibrating. Apparently a minor tremor, but it made me rethink the idea of staying in CA. Next duty station was Norfolk!
bkny
#48 mattr — thanks for that link. i hadnt seen that story.
Doctor Science
In related heart-warming news, GOS report on a seizure-service dog for a child, funded via blog donations — with enough left over to fund one for another child, too.
I dare you not to tear up. I *double-dog dare you*.
Yeah. I win.
Jim Once
Those of you in southern CA (Maya?) – is it possible to keep us updated? Not much on CNN, et al.
Rochelle Lesser
Have devoted much time to this special psychiatric service dogs mitigating a world of hurt. Just go to
Rochelle Lesser
Have devoted much time to these special psychiatric service dogs mitigating a world of hurt. Just go to http://landofpuregold.com/sitstaysoothe.htm
Cain
@purplegirl
This kind of stuff really burns me up. How the hell are people who after serving their time in prison able to get absorbed back into the workforce if they are going to be punished for the rest of their lives? Really.. this is stupid. It’s why a lot of them go back to crime. What else can you do?
cain
Yutsano
Anne Laurie: if you’re around, please check your e-mail. I realized there are things I shouldn’t do without caffeine. :)
Cain
@jeffreyw
I was shocked the other day when the local news highlighted that a pitbull had saved his owner from an attack by a man. Both of them were in a car and some dude tried to get in from the passenger door. The dog let out one of those warning growls and the guy literally fell backwards fell, and then took off running. Hah. “Don’t thread of on me and mine, mother fucker!”
Still, covering a pitbull in a good light was kind of cool. They also were covering some pitbulls that were captured and used in fighting and how some had to be put down but some were being adopted. I think the pitbull who saved his owner was one of them.
cain
AnotherBruce
I checked out the San Diego Union Trib website for news on the quake. It looks like the quake struck about 120 miles east southeast of San Diego. And then there was this in the comment section:
I have been, how should I say, slightly irregular lately and so early this morning I took a laxative. I went in and sat down with a good book as I felt the ‘need’ coming and just after starting to read, the ‘quake hit. I was sitting there thinking that laxative is pretty good stuff, but then realized it was only an earthquake.
For some reason I can’t stop laughing at this. I’m kind of embarrassed that I find this so funny.
Meyerman
Terry Gross did a great segment on Fresh Air.
Listen: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111806582
Ruckus
This is why I like this blog. Smart stuff for the mind, good people stuff for the heart and every so often rants for the soul.
Anne Laurie
AWS, Calvin: My bad. I wrote this post late last night, scheduled it for this afternoon, then emailed Yutsano for permission to use ‘his’ photo. Unfortunately, I screwed up the timing. Yutsano had a question about my email, but my original post appeared before I could remove the photo; then he replied giving permission, so it’s back up again. Thanks, Y!
PurpleGirl, my dog guru’s (much less intensive) prison training program is out in the Midwest; New York is notorious for having the most ridiculously stringent Catch-22 licensing regulations in the country.
The people involved in this Midwestern program are not certified as human psychologists, and do not go beyond their remit as instructors in dog training. It surprised a number of people (probably not least the prisoners themselves) how many of the trainees were able to make the intellectual leap to “Hey, did you know this ‘positive reinforcement’ stuff works with cellmates / girlfriends / kids, too?”
Hal
In all seriousness, what happens after the dog dials 911?
MattR
@Hal – I assume that 911 is given information ahead of time about the existence of the service dog and the condition of the owner.
Either that or the dog is also trained to hit play on a tape recorder.
Anne Laurie
As I understand it, 911 responders automatically send out a truck when they get a call but no further response — in case someone’s passed out or has the phone taken away by an attacker / intruder. I suspect that local emergency services also keep a list of “special case” addresses, not just homes with trained service dogs but also senior / assisted living complexes, daycare centers, etc.
Yutsano
Anne Laurie is being too nice about the situation. I totally misread what her e-mail said so initially I denied permission to use the photo, then came back to it later when I checked BJ at work and realized I had been dumb. So now teh massive cuteness is back. That is indeed the picture I was trying to show you yesterday furiso. I only regret I don’t know the exact story behind it.
Phoebe
That npr episode is great, @59. [Meyerman]. It explains the training and everything else much more in depth.
And the inmate in that show, plus the inmate “Judy” from the nyt 2008 article are both in the movie “What I Want My Words to Do To You” which everyone should netflick.
J. Michael Neal
I have to confess that I was wrong about Al Franken. I never thought he was funny as a comedian.* His attempts at political humor were just bilious and, while almost all of his targets deserve nothing but bile, I just don’t think it’s funny. I felt much the same way about a lot of his non-comedic political commentary. While I don’t think an acting career disqualifies one from public service (Clint Eastwood and Shirley Temple Black were both very good in their own ways), there was nothing about him that led me to conclude that he would be any good.
I admit it. I was wrong.
PurpleGirl
Anne Laurie — I’m heartened to hear that the prisoners in some states don’t end up in absurd catch-22 situations. These programs are so important to many peoples’ futures.
mai naem
Hey, I’m glad this story made it onto the FP. I would love to be involved in something like this but it sounds like you have to be a professional. Also too, I am jealous of the BJrs who have Franken as their senator. I, for one, am not surprised that he’s as good as he is. He went to Harvard for Math/Statistics. He’s taught at the Kennedy School. His books were very good. Easy enough for the average person to read but still informative. Also too the prison thing – I have a client whose relatively young son was in prison for a few years for assault. He cannot work in anything school related, health related, financial related, anything that requires bonding. lots of driving related jobs are out. This is before you even consider that lots of people don’t even want to hire an ex-felon. Yes, they screwed up but do you really want to pay to send them back to prison when they decide that doing something illegal is more lucrative than working at a Burger King?
jake the sanke
semi off topic, but this reminded me of Sam Fuller’s “White Dog.
Sort of the same thing in reverse.
I saw it years ago in the edited for tv format, but have not scene the uncut version. Don’t know if it available on Netflix.
It is avaible in DVD from Criterion. Criterion is overpriced, but often the only source for rare movies.
The treatment of the film caused Fuller to pretty much retire from directing.
Polar Bear Squares
Ok. I’m not a wingnut by any means and I really love this blog, but it always surprises me when this blog talks about the Flying Spaghetti Monster and how silly the resurrection story is, but, for some reason it’s cool to believe your dog and cat really loves you or a pet can be the key to your salvation.
Seems as improbable as the Easter story if you ask me.
Nonetheless, whatever floats your boats and finds your lost remote. If this helps soliders cope and maintain, I’m all for it. Same as other people. I’m just not sneering at the thought of it. Or at least, I’m trying not to.
Just struck by the irony. That’s all.
Cheers.
Yutsano
@jake the sanke
I think that puppy is much more likely to kiss you to death. I get the point you’re making, however. There are dogs (and Anne Laurie can attest to this) whose training is so well-ingrained that they just can’t be adopted into normal populations. The good news is that dogs can also be trained to be very helpful and sweet critters. My uncle (who is blind) is getting a new seeing eye dog (his old one died in an accident) and I’m hoping he/she will be as sweet as his old German shepherd was. He made it a point to lay close to me at dinner cause he knew who the easy mark was as far as getting bites of food.
Mnemosyne
I can’t tell for sure, but Netflix uses the Criterion cover for White Dog on their website, so it looks like that might be the version they carry. It’s not my favorite Fuller film, but it’s still pretty good.
Mnemosyne
If you’re arguing that animals don’t have and express emotion, you’re quite a bit behind the times scientifically. There are a few holdouts, but the current consensus is that animals do have emotions and that domestic animals do make an effort to communicate those emotions to their human caretakers.
In other words, it turns out that Darwin was right when he posited the same idea in 1872.
But, hey, if you prefer to believe in the face of scientific evidence that animals don’t express emotions, be my guest, but don’t fool yourself into thinking it’s a rational belief on your part since it’s not supported by the science.
Yutsano
There’s a big difference in between anthropomorphism and experiencing the emotions our chosen animals express to us. To say that they don’t bond in any way makes no sense (why would they bother to come back at all?) and flies in the face of both human experience and even evolution. They did a long-standing study of how dogs evolved, those that showed the ability to bond with humans survived better and they produced puppies that also formed those bonds. To suggest that it all is just in our heads is pretty much laughable.
Tattoosydney
And the reaction of anyone who ever owned a dog to science finally catching up with them is: “Duh”.
They may not be as complex, or able to analyse their emotions, but they certainly feel what we would call emotions if we were having them.
Just today, my dog clearly experienced joy (new chew toy), confusion (Bradley hiding), collaboration (looking for me to help him find Bradley), surprise (finding Bradley hiding on the couch), anxiety (people out the front), frustration (not allowed to bark at people out the front) and contentment (tummy scritch), and ain’t no one can tell me they weren’t exactly the same emotions that U feel.
slightly_peeved
If you assumed that any scientific researcher talking about how emotion, consciousness or thinking worked was talking out their arse, you’d be on the money pretty damn often.
The field is still in a pre-scientific stage, and we don’t know shit; anyone who claims otherwise is trying to sell you something.
Yutsano
@ TattooSydney:
I had some great point about how emotions are more than just mere responses to external stimuli but it’s just beyond gone. I think I need to either get to sleep or down a few cups of java.
Oh and ni hao ma?
Polar Bear Squares
@Mnemosyne
These links seem like subjective observations. I mean, the author writes in several of the passages, “we can’t know what X animal feels.” So I don’t think this is scientific at all.
Not to mention there’s a persuasive argument against your argument at the end of the link you supplied.
I’m not interested in a flame war, so this is the last I’ll speak of this. I enjoy this blog too much to continue down this path.
But it seems pretty silly to believe your pet will cry a river if you were to disappear, will mocking someone’s belief in a higher being.
But hey, do you.
Mnemosyne
It’s a pretty long stretch from “we’re observing emotional behavior that we can’t completely explain” and “animals don’t have emotions.” If you’re going to tell scientists that they’re not allowed to report their observations unless they have a comprehensive explanation of what they’ve observed, you’ve pretty much killed science.
I’m pretty sure no one here said that their specific pet will “cry a river” if they disappeared. However, as anyone who’s ever had a pet can tell you, animals do react to events. If animals have no emotions, why did our surviving cat search the house for the one who died? He should have been completely indifferent to the fact that she was gone since animals have no emotions.
Of course, I myself believe in a higher being, so I suppose that my observations of the animals I take care of are tainted by that.