"In the News"
Update on Our Situation
July 31, 2008
Since our last entry, the Director of Offender Operations for the Arizona Department of Corrections (ADC) contacted us requesting a meeting. Both the Training Director for Second Chance and I had the opportunity to sit down face-to-face with the Director to discuss the possibility of proceeding with an inmate dog-training program. The Director explained that he was new to this position, and was interested in obtaining as much information as possible prior to making a decision as to whether or not to pursue a partnership between the ADC and Second Chance. This meeting provided us with a wonderful opportunity to once again share with them some of the many benefits of implementing this type of program. We are still waiting to hear the final outcome.
We do know that they held a meeting just yesterday to discuss the direction they would like to pursue. We hope we might hear something encouraging soon. We know the interest is there, as we have been contacted by staff members from several different prisons expressing a strong desire to begin a dog-training program.
We would love nothing more than to implement our program within the correctional environment. However, at the same time, past experience has taught us that we need to look at other alternatives for broadening our program as well, so that we can function independently in the event our partnership would dissolve. In our last update, we cited several different avenues we were considering pursuing, all of which remain consistent with our current philosophy. We have started making phone calls and speaking with representatives from various organizations.
One of those organizations is the Assistance Dog Institute. This group has created a program designed to help Iraq war veterans train service dogs for other veterans. This program is the only one of its kind in the world. We are very fortunate to have an inside contact with them through one of our volunteers who recently completed the ADI training program. I had the opportunity to speak at great length with their training program director. As with any new endeavor, this sort of thing takes time. They are in the process of undergoing a trial program for the Veteran's Administration, and are still working out the kinks. They do hope this pilot program will be successful, so they can pave the way for other groups to get started. This is certainly a worthy cause and our veterans deserve whatever assistance we can provide them. However, this solution is not a short-term goal for us, but more of a long-term possibility for broadening our vision to help meet the needs of those around us.
Another avenue we are currently exploring is the possibility of creating a High School Assistance program geared to address teens at risk. The goal would be to take a proactive approach to help keep them out of Detention Centers. We would work with them in much the same manner that we would be working with the inmates, teaching them the skills necessary to train the dogs. Implementing a program of this type could be a short-term possibility for us.
At this point, we are uncertain as to how things are going to unfold. Regardless of the order of events, we acknowledge that there are some great needs which exist within our community and we have to do something to try and meet those needs. As I said in our last update, we have a gap within our community between "needs" and "resources." The needs: 1) Numerous unwanted dogs who need loving homes; 2) Individuals with disabilities who need a well-trained service or therapy dog; 3) Special needs populations who could benefit therapeutically from training dogs for others with special needs.
In essence, the resources are the very needs themselves, e.g., unwanted dogs, veterans with PTSD, troubled teens, prison inmates -- the list could go on and on. Second Chance would serve as the catalyst to empower the "needs" population to become their own "resources" by bridging this gap and making it a win-win situation benefiting all entities involved. We have to keep trying.
I would also like to express my gratitude for how faithful some of our volunteers and supporters have been. In spite of the many challenges we have faced, we still have our core group of supporters. Thank you for not giving up on this cause! We need your help, whether it is through volunteer service or donating funds to keep us going. We cannot make it without your help. Please consider joining us in some way to help make this vision a reality.
Thank you.
Gayle Woods
Founder/Executive Director
Second Chance Canine Program