Dogs heading to prison to learn some manners

Remy is an innocent man, but on Tuesday, he's going to prison for 12 weeks.

On the up side, the beagle-terrier mix has an attorney to represent him, and officials with the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri hope his stint behind bars will ensure he lives a productive life on the outside.

Assistant federal public defender Scott Tilsen and his wife, Linda, are fostering Remy until he leaves for Potosi, Mo., to join the Puppies for Parole program at the maximum-security correctional center there.

Remy plays with a toy Thursday at the Tilsens' home. (Adam Vogler)

"We're getting his little orange jumpsuit ready. ... We have a criminal defense lawyer at hand at all times in case he needs it," Linda Tilsen said, laughing.

Remy is one of 10 dogs from the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri who will spend three months sharing cells with some of the prison system's toughest offenders, said Charlotte Craig, society president.

Through the program, prisoners -- including some on death row and some serving life sentences for murder -- will train and socialize the dogs to make them more adoptable, Craig said.

"They're really great dogs, but they just need that extra something to push them to get adopted," said Requi Salter, Humane Society board member. "... It's a wide variety of dogs -- several different personalities -- that will be going. Some of them are outgoing. Some are dogs that need a little extra socializing and confidence. It really is a wide variety."

The dogs will live with their incarcerated handlers 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for the duration of the program, Craig said.

"They are taught basic good manners and skills," she said.

Dogs who show a particular aptitude for learning and working with humans may go on to advanced training and become service dogs for people with disabilities; the rest will be available for adoption as pets, Craig said.

When Craig went to Potosi to learn about the program, a convicted murderer showed her a video of a service dog whose 10-year-old owner was autistic, she said.

The dog provided the boy a greater degree of freedom than he might have had otherwise, and working with the dog lifted the trainer's spirits, Craig said.

"He said, 'This dog has changed my life,'" she said. "The warden agrees that the inmates are so much better off with the animals. ... It is a win-win for the humans and the animals."

Salter agreed.

"It's brought a lot of meaning to their lives, I think, and it definitely makes a big difference for the dogs," she said.

epriddy@semissourian.com

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