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LOVE CHANGES PEOPLE
Prison Pets: Rehabilitating Inmates With Feline Love
The Program is a Win-Win for Everyone Involved
Like many of you who use social media with regularity, I’m a sucker for pet videos. More specifically, the ones that show cats and dogs being rescued. When I see a video of a tired, hungry, dirty pet that’s been abandoned by its owner, it can bring me to tears.
Most videos I watched showed a kind-hearted caring person helping a poor, innocent, scared animal. From bathing them, feeding them, and giving them shots and love, these animals rebound quickly. Many are adopted by people who are happy to love them and give them a home.
But what if that home is a prison?
A unique video I saw the other day detailed a program at the Indiana State Prison. The ISP was one of the first prisons to implement a cat rescue program for inmates. Though they are not the only prison system that now offers such options for stray, abandoned cats, they were one of the pioneers in this amazing, effective program.
Fostering stray cats and dogs in a prison setting dates back to the 70s. Several prisons found themselves in a unique situation. Stray cats had found their way into several prisons. The metaphor is not lost on me, as it relates to at-risk…
