Inmates Reunite With Pups They Helped Train

Hugs, tears, barking, and tail wagging abounded at San Quentin's prison when two black Labradors reunited with the incarcerated men who helped raise them to be service dogs. The emotional reunion brought together Chase Benoit, Jared Hansen, and the 2-year-old dogs they helped train: Wendel and Artemis. The encounter on March 28 in San Quentin brought Benoit and Hansen full circle after helping launch the prison's program in April 2023.

• Details: Benoit and Jensen were part of an initial group of four incarcerated trainers who shared their 4-foot-by-10-foot cells with 4-month-old puppies. The men divided the responsibility of caring for and teaching the dogs foundational commands for a year. Canine Companions, a nonprofit, runs the program and provides free service dogs to people with disabilities. It has built the San Quentin program to 16 trainers and two dog sitters who are currently training eight puppies.

• The regimen: Puppies are placed with incarcerated trainers when the dogs are between 2 months and 4 months old and stay with them until they're about 16 months old. Every three months the puppies are taken out for socialization experiences, like interacting with children, riding in cars, or going to the grocery store. The incarcerated men teach them about 20 skills, including fetching, sitting, and walking on a leash. After the dogs leave the prison, they train for several more months with professional trainers.
• Trainers: San Quentin inmates who participate in the program have been convicted of crimes that include bank robberies and murder. Only those who are in an "earned living unit," where residents participate in an array of self-help programs, are allowed to apply for puppy training. Inmates with records that include any animal or child cruelty crimes aren't allowed to participate, said James Dern, national director of puppy programs for Canine Companions.

• Results: Dern said dogs in their prison programs have a 10% greater success rate than others because of the amount of time and care that inmates put into their dogs. "Being given something to care about other than themselves and the opportunity to give back and to sort of start to make amends ... can be life-changing," Dern said.
• Reaction: "Being in this program, it's given me something that I think I've searched for my whole life," said Benoit, who's serving 15 years to life for second-degree murder. "And that was meaningful purpose, doing something that's good, better, bigger than myself."

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