Women in Allegheny County Jail explain benefits of TAILS training program
A group of women incarcerated at the Allegheny County Jail is helping dogs get ready for adoption, and the dogs are helping them get prepared for re-entry into life.
Just a few months back, Leia, a stray Pitbull mix, was found roaming around Neville Island without tags or signs of an owner. Today, the Allegheny County Jail has partnered with Animal Friends to have women at the jail teach the dog the basics.
"Animal Friends brings us a little furry friend, and we foster them and try to get them house-ready so they can go to their forever homes," said Sammi, an incarcerated woman.
It's a program called Teaching Animals and Incarcerated Lifelong Skills. And while it's designed to get dogs like Leia ready for adoption, it may be even more beneficial to her handlers, Jessica and Sammi.
"Something about her just works for my mental health more than any kind of medication could," Sammi said.
Both the dogs and the women incarcerated at the jail are looking for a reset. Mia Bella and Ashley are recovering from drug and alcohol addiction, which they say led them to criminal acts that landed them at the Allegheny County Jail. They say training and caring for a Mastiff named Zeus is helping them stay clean and sober.
"I'm a mother of three, and being away from my kids is hard on me," said Mia Bella. "But having something to take care of and someone who shows me unconditional love while I'm in this situation is a blessing.
"This is like both of our chances at a new start."
"It really gives you a purpose in here because we're helping them get a second chance a life just like we are looking for one too," Ashley added.
Programs like the one at the Allegheny County Jail have sprung up in jails and prisons across the country, and the results — though anecdotal — have been beyond positive.
Program director Kelsey Gordon says the dogs have impacted the entire women's pod, where there have been far fewer fights and incidents since the first dogs arrived in June. But the program has been especially transformative for the handlers.
"They're training the dogs, but the dogs are also training them to be more patient. to be more empathetic towards people and other individuals, and it kind of goes hand in hand," Gordon said.
Since the program's inception in June, five dogs trained in jail have been adopted by local families through Animal Friends. And though the women incarcerated at the jail are sometimes saddened to see them go, they're hoping for the same for dogs like Leia and a similar outcome for themselves.
"None of us wants to be here long," Sammi said. "I hope she has a wonderful experience while she's here with us. And she'll find a forever home, and hopefully we never see her in here again."
Both the dogs and the women have been broken in life and have now ended up at the Allegheny County Jail, but they are now in a process of healing each other, getting ready for re-entry into life.