By Rachel Swick Mavity
The Cape Gazette
SUSSEX COUNTY, Del. — Many inmates at Sussex Correctional Institution say they want to give back to the community. Session Boyd says he wants to give back to the dogs.
Boyd, a Vietnam veteran, said he hoped the dogs he trained would be adopted by veterans looking for a companion after coming home from overseas.
“Part of it is giving to the community and part of it is giving back to the dogs,” Boyd said. “We send dogs to war and to fight. We put them in harm’s way, but now I want to give back to the dogs.”
Paws for a Cause gives Boyd that chance.
The new program, which started at SCI five weeks ago, pairs inmates with SPCA dogs. The idea is the inmates help socialize the dogs and get them ready for adoption.
Similar projects exist across the nation, and for years SCI Deputy Warden Linda Valentino wanted to initiate a program in Sussex County.
Boyd’s training partner, Raymond Bradley, said he joined the program to give back to the community.
Bradley said he hopes after 10 weeks of training, Sire, a Rottweiler mix, will be a good candidate for adoption.
“I’ve committed a crime and during my incarceration, I’ve tried to focus on what I can do to give back,” Bradley said. “I want to try to pay my debt back to society. This program was a perfect opportunity.”
He said the goal is to train the dog to take a good citizenship test.
“We are teaching the dog discipline and obedience so he can be a good companion,” Bradley said. “It’s a very valuable cause, and it’s been a learning experience both for the dog and for us.”
Sire lives in the cell with Bradley and Boyd. The inmates are responsible for walking Sire and taking care of him. If a medical need arises, Sire goes up Route 113 to the SPCA shelter.
Anne Cavanaugh, director of the Delaware SPCA, said the program has been successful so far.
“It’s a win-win,” Cavanaugh said. “It will benefit the dogs to spend more time with humans.”
All of the inmates in the program are long-term, meaning they all have at least five years left in their sentence. Many of them are lifers at the prison, Valentino said.
“After these dogs move on, the inmates will get a new dog immediately,” she said. “The inmates write a journal about the dog’s journey to give to the person who adopts the dog.”
Valentino said she envisions expanding the program in the future. SCI is now housing four dogs, but she doesn’t see a limit in the number of dogs the prison could house.
“We could have a whole unit of dogs,” Valentino said.
Paws for a Cause comes to SCI
The Delaware SPCA partnered with Sussex Correctional Institution in Paws for a Cause, which pairs inmates with dogs for training to make them adoptable.
When the program was approved for SCI, Valentino accepted applications from inmates interested in training dogs from the SPCA. Out of 14 applications, eight were approved.
Two groups at SCI - the Veterans Group and the Lifers Group - have taken Paws for a Cause up as their charity of choice, Valentino said. SCI currently houses about 1,160 inmates outside Georgetown.
Valentino said the prison is accepting donations for the program, including blankets, beds, crates, leashes, collars and monetary donations to keep the program going into the future.
Reprinted with permission of The Cape Gazette