Dog lovers are everywhere, including our prisons. Inmates at a local correctional center are giving back to the community by socializing and training dogs from the Oneida County Humane Society.
Barbed wire fences. Tyrannical Wardens. Tiny cells. These might be the perceptions people have of correctional centers, but the McNaughton Correctional Center has none of those things. Instead, inmates live in dorm-style rooms at a former Tuberculosis camp on the shore of Lake Tomahawk. Many inmates have jobs off-campus,like Kyle Kruczkowski who works at Trig’s, but inmates at the minimum security prison also dedicate their time to area businesses and organizations like the Oneida County Humane Society.
KYLE: Some of us inmates are really stressed out. When you get a dog to go walk or go sit or throw the ball, just to chill with the dog, it relieves a lot of stress.
Kyle is a handler for the humane society’s “New Beginnings” program. It’s a cooperation at the correctional center where inmates get assigned to socialize and train troubled dogs. Humane Society Director Bria Swartout explains the program.
BRIA: The basis of the program is that there are approximately four dogs here each time. There are here for six to eight weeks of training or longer, depending on the needs of the dogs or the needs of the humane society. Sometimes the guys like to keep the dog around, so I’ll add a couple of weeks extra. I think overall, the program helps both facilities. It helps the humane society to rehome some dogs that would be more difficult, and it helps the McNaughton Correctional Facility because it helps the guys. It helps them learn responsibilities that maybe they haven’t had for several years. They learn to bond to another being. I think there’s a lot of good on both sides.
Bria says the program has been around since 2012. She says that after only a few weeks of socialization there can be huge differences in behavior.
BRIA: Every dog is different. Currently, two of the three dogs here were very shy and had very withdrawn cage behaviors, and anyone coming to meet them couldn’t really meet them because they were so shy. At this point here, I’ve heard amazing results. The dog are able to go into a group now. They are able to be pet by anyone who is approaching them when before, only one or two people could approach them. So the results of this program are amazing when you consider where this dog came from and where it’s going.
McNaughton Corrections Superintendent Brad Kosbab says success is not only for the dogs, however.
BRAD: It’s a lot less stressful. It’s hard to have a bad day when you have the dog around. When you have the dogs around, they make a bad day better and a good day good. There’s somebody that’s always happy to see you and whether you involved in the program or not, if they’re out walking dog the even the inmates that aren’t involved will stop by and say hi. You’ll see them down the dog rec area and they’ll stop and play with the dog for a minute or two and say hi. It’s just nice. It changes the atmosphere a little bit. Last year, they made tunnels in the snow and built a run for the dogs. That’s people taking an interest. It’s a little bit less stressful of an atmosphere.
Brad Says inmates often come to McNaughton after being at higher security facilities, and the camp is used as a way to acclimate to daily life again. All of the inmates are respectful and have positive relationships with the staff. The pride in the facility is infectious.
BRAD: We’re proud of our facility and we’re proud of what we do.
KYLE: “I’ve been to different camps and this is the best camp. This is where you want to be.”
BRAD: We worked hard to get it here, and all of working together, including the inmates is what makes this happens.
KYLE: “We have a lot of privileges here that we don’t have anywhere else.”
For additional information about service projects done by the McNaughton Correctional Center, visit the Department of Corrections Website.
