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In the heart of Chicago, behind the imposing barriers of the Cook County Jail, an unexpected scene unfolds. Here, amid chain-link fences and barbed wire, detainees are dedicating their time to training dogs, often considered man’s best friend.
“It’s a process. It takes time. But little by little, they start getting the hang of it,” shared David Arratia, one of the inmates involved in this transformative program. Arratia is currently facing drug charges, but rather than idly awaiting his fate in the legal system, he has chosen to invest his energy into something positive.
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The dogs participating in this initiative come from local shelters. While many receive standard obedience training to improve their chances of adoption, a select few are groomed to become therapy dogs. Among them is Buddy, a 1-and-a-half-year-old lab retriever mix, who has become Arratia’s companion in this journey.
Reflecting on his past, Arratia shared, “I grew up poor. So, we could barely feed ourselves, let alone have a dog. So, that was really out of the question. But now that I’m here, I finally learned what it’s like to take care of a dog, to look after him, to really know how to be responsible for him.”
“I grew up poor. So, we could barely feed ourselves, let alone have a dog. So, that was really out of the question. But now that I’m here, I finally learned what it’s like to take care of a dog, to look after him, to really know how to be responsible for him,” Arratia said.
Through Sheriff Tom Dart’s Tails of Redemption program, both dogs and detainees are learning to leave their pasts behind, focusing instead on the potential of their futures.
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“You can see the transformation. You can see what it does to people. And so for us to be able to be sort of, feeding the system with therapy dogs is great,” Dart said.
Nine therapy dogs have already come through the sheriff’s program, with six more currently in training. Depending on the individual dog, they can be fully trained in two and a half to three months. And at this point, there’s now a waiting list for law enforcement agencies hoping to land one of the well-trained pups.
“We’re very confident what we’re putting out when it’s time to go out. So, when we turn it over to an agency that would have otherwise paid $15,000, $20,000 for a dog, they’re getting it for free,” said Jerry Roman, director of the K-9 Unit and Tails of Redemption.
And while the dogs and the program have minimal costs, the value to the agencies, community, the animals and the people in custody is extraordinary.
“Some people, all they know is like what they grew up around. And being here, it provides an environment and a space to try new things, to do things that you never thought you were capable of,” Arratia said.