Pets are not only our companions but often they can be healers. The therapeutic power of cats and dogs is a well-known fact. These furry companions can help humans reduce anxiety and depression. They make us feel less lonely, elevate our mood, and can even decrease high blood pressure. However, another virtue pets bring to the table that’s often overlooked is the ability to transform lives. In this case, they prove that they can help rehabilitate even the most hardened hearts, such as those of convicted inmates.
In 2015, Indiana’s Animal Protection League began a wonderful new program in Pendleton Correctional Facility called F.O.R.W.A.R.D.
The idea behind the initiative was to take cats from a shelter and give them a home in a correctional facility where the inmates could take care of them.
The program quickly yielded dividends as it proved to be beneficial to both the cats and the inmates.
There are a lot of cats who end up at the shelter, often with a long history of abuse and mistreatment. Their horrible past lives leave them scarred and unable to properly socialize with humans.
Since these felines lack trust in people, they have a much lower chance of being adopted.
What they need is patient and loving care before they are ready to find a forever home.
And this program accomplishes that goal.
As the animals are being taken care of by the prisoners who feed them, groom them, and clean up after them, the cats become more social and trusting toward people.
And not only do the cats benefit from the program, but inmates also get an opportunity to learn how to care and take responsibility for another living creature.
“I’ve had offenders tell me when they got an animal, it was the first time they can remember they were allowing themselves to care about something, to love something,” said the director of APL, Maleah Stringer.
“It teaches them responsibility, how to interact in a group using non-violent methods to solve problems and gives them the unconditional love of a pet – something many of these inmates have never known,” the APL writes on their website.
So far, the program’s been very successful.
“The MCKC Program has reduced offender idleness, taught offenders about responsibility and increased their self-esteem. Since the program’s inception, offenders have been motivated to enroll in school, obtain jobs, obey unit rules and improve their hygiene so that they may become MCKC participants. The presence of animals on E Unit has added a new calmness to E Unit’s therapeutic milieu and strengthened its community spirit,” Purrfect Pals writes on their website.
However, there’s one particular animal in prison’s program that made folks quite angry.
After the release of Death Row 2018, which focuses on the lives of inmates of Indiana State Prison, people took to social media to condemn the program.
They believed that inmates convicted of heinous crimes shouldn’t be allowed to keep pets. Many felt the inmates could not be trusted with the animals.
