From prison bars to loving laps

Lilly is first inmate-trained dog to be placed at nursing home

Thursday, November 15, 2012

— She arrived in a shimmer of gold, greeted by flashing cameras and a chorus of “oohs” and “ahhs.”

Reveling in the crowd’s admiration, Lilly pranced and preened.

Then she ate a piece of cake off the floor.

Clearly, the 10-pound ratterrier mix was settling into her new home nicely.

Lilly, a graduate of thePaws in Prison program, is the first dog trained by the state’s prison inmates to be placed in a nursing home.

At St. Michael’s Place nursing home in Newport, Lilly will be allowed to roam freely, seeking laps, pats and - given her intense interest in the cake table - very likely scraps of food.

It’s a far cry from her previous life as an unwanted stray.

“This dog could have been put down,” noted Dina Tyler,assistant director of public services for the Arkansas Department of Correction.

“Instead, she will now lead an extraordinary life where she is pampered, coddled and loved.”

PAWS IN PRISON

In December 2011, the Correction Department partnered with CARE for Animals - a central Arkansas rescue group - to implement a program that places shelter dogs in prisons, where theyare trained by inmates.

All of the animals come from shelters with high kill rates. After they are rescued, the dogs are assigned to inmate teams.

Those teams then spend several months training their furry charges to be good family pets. Before the dogs can be adopted, they must earn their American Kennel Club Good Citizenship certifications.

The program is run entirelythrough donations. The Correction Department would like to expand it, but at this point officials are worried that they won’t have the money to keep it going at the four already-participating prisons.

“We’re like every other rescue group,” Tyler said. “We have to scratch for money. We’ve gotten some donations, but not as much as I’d hoped for.” Lilly, a young adult dog, spent four months at the Randall L. Williams detention facility in Pine Bluff.

Her easy-going nature caught the attention of Carrie Kessler, a dog trainer who is deeply involved in the Paws in Prison program.

Kessler also is a longtime horse trainer. Because of her involvement in shows, she got to know Robert Mullenax, who owns a horse named Girlfriend.

Mullenax also is co-owner of SeniorWorks, which provides services - dental or visual, for example - to residents of nursing homes.

Mullenax’s business partner is Josh Kilgore, who owns St. Michael’s.

After some discussion, the trio proposed placing Paws in Prisons’ canine graduates in nursing homes.

This, they thought, would be yet another way to make long term-care facilities less institutional and more homelike, an initiative supported by the Arkansas Health CareAssociation.

“This is a good example of that initiative,” noted Rachel Davis, deputy director of the Arkansas Health Care Association.

She gestured toward a cluster of residents cooing over Lilly.

“This is their home. Thisis where they live.”

And thus began Paws 4 Seniors.

NURSING-HOME DEBUT

For weeks, the residents of St. Michael’s have asked administrator Ashley Thomley when “their dog” would arrive.

“She’s coming today,” she assured an especially persistent senior citizen Wednesday morning.

In preparation for Lilly’s arrival, Thomley and the activities director’s mother constructed a tiny hot-pink doghouse bedecked with zebra-print decor.

Over the entrance, black letters spell out “Lilly’s Pad.”

Also awaiting Lilly on Wednesday were two cakes - one in the shape of a bone and the other spelling out her name - a large welcome banner and a bowl of pink punch. Oh, and dozens of dog treats.

Pink and black balloons dotted the ceiling.

Around 1 p.m., residents began to gather in the lobby, wondering aloud when their new dog would finally arrive.

And then - “She’s here! Lilly’s here!” someone called in delight.

Lilly trotted in, wearing a sparkling gold collar.

She spent the next 15 minutes being passed from lap to lap before exploring her wee doghouse.

At one point, several pairs of hands helped her don a pink and black sweater, prompting another round of cooing.

Part of the reason Lilly was chosen to become the first nursing-home dog is the fact that she’s oblivious to wheelchairs, which can make some dogs nervous.

Lilly also has an even and pleasant temperament, Kessler said, explaining, “She just wants to be a lap dog.”

Tyler chimed in, joking: “She’s not an intimidating dog. Her collar is bigger than she is.”

“I want to see her!” another resident called out. Pulling a complacent Lilly on to her lap, the women lapsed immediately into a soft croon: “You’re so cute,” she informed Lilly.

Tyler said the inmates who trained Lilly were thrilled to find out that their dog would be going to a nursing home.

“They’re always excited about their dogs going to good families, but to know their dog is coming to a place like this - where it will make a difference in residents’ lives - is significant to them.”

Lilly enjoyed mingling. But once she made the connection between cake crumbs on the floor and the cake table, she made a beeline for the table, where she loitered hopefully, much to the residents’ amusement.

Tyler smiled.

“That little itty-bitty 10-pound dog will lift everybody in here up.” More information about the Paws in Prison program is available at adc.arkansas.gov/PawsInPrison.

Northwest Arkansas, Pages 7 on 11/15/2012