Leeta's Past

So we found some stuff out yesterday evening and this monring.  Apparently Leeta has a bit of a past.  We're looking for familial and friend support here folks, but I have to say that for most of her puppy-hood, she was in prison, and she has a tattoo.

All right, you're still with us?  No, this isn't the ABC Movie of the Week.  Actually we're quite proud that from 8 weeks old until she matriculated and moved onto advanced training that she as well as 5 of the other 6 dogs in the current team training were in a state penitentiary.  CCI has several puppy raising programs in prisons throughout the U.S.  Below is a copy of an article written for the Sun Sentinel in Palm Beach from earlier this year.  It tells the important parts.

So we won't be meeting the inmate who raised Leeta, and the probability of getting puppy pictures is slight since cameras aren't allowed in prison, but we will be meeting the director of the program for Leeta's prison.  Not sure which one, but it's somewhere near Montgomery, Alabama.

Some vital statisitics:  Leeta is a purebred Labrador retriever.  She was born on October 16, 2006 so she's just 25 months old.  She's of medium size in the program, weighs 56 lbs., has been spayed and likes long walks in the moonlight.  

Now about the tattoo.  Her right ear, on the inside has a distinct number for identification.  It's put there by CCI so that she can always be identified.  It's only in the CCI database, but she'll always have a tag on her that says CCI and their 800 number.

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Sun Sentinel/Carline Jean / August 15, 2008)

By Jerome Burdi |  South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Jailhouse dogs provide therapy while they are trained

 Puppies that will one day work as service dogs for disabled people spend the first year of their training in jail.

 The Palm Beach County Jail inmates give the puppies basic training and in return, learn responsibility and caring.

 "Working with an animal like that brings out the best in people," Sheriff's Col. Michael Gauger said.

 The inmates cuddle the puppies, attend to their yelps, brush their teeth, bathe and train them.

 Sherriff's officials say it's therapeutic for the inmates. The yellow and black Labradors live in the dormitory cells and the inmates look after the dogs like parents.

 "The same way I train him, he trains me for when I go back into life," said Frank Alexander, 38, who is doing time on drug charges. The father of four said the dog he's working with, Conrad III, has taught him the parenting skill of patience.

 The inmates, at the Stockade west of West Palm Beach, have been training the puppies for Canine Companions for Independence since 2005.

 A California breeder sends the Labradors to the jail when they are 8 weeks old.

 Training dogs behind bars is part of a growing trend around the country, having inmates socialize and train them.The dogs, in turn, bring renewed hope to the incarcerated.

 "She gives me a lot of confidence," said Jessica Daniels, 25, convicted of burglary. She gushed as she watched Yanna perform during a training session. "You have to earn a dog's respect like you have to earn a child's respect. It raises your self-worth. It proves you can accomplish something."

 Mentors from Canine Companions teach the inmates, who must have no history of violence, how to train the dogs. The puppies spend about a year in the jail learning basic commands like "heel," when to bark, and other house manners.

 Mentors go to the jail once a week to monitor the training. The dogs graduate from the jail to a two-week course with professional trainers at Canine Companions' Southeast Regional Center in Orlando. That prepares them to be service dog companions to people with autism, cerebral palsy and other physical disabilities. The dogs, which are donated, are trained to open drawers, turn on lights and pick up items for their owners. Canine Companions has 24 dogs being trained in Florida at the Stockade and two state prisons in Panama City and Quincy.

 The Stockade inmates have a history of drug abuse and do their time in a yearlong military style program. The day begins at 5 a.m. with exercise under the command of fatigues-wearing drill instructor Sgt. Robert Harris. The inmates also attend therapy sessions and multidenominational religious services.

 The idea to incorporate the Labradors, which sleep in cages in the cells, came from Palm Beach County Public Defender Carey Haughwout, whose mother had a service dog that was partially trained in a prison.

 "I saw firsthand what a wonderful assistance it was to her," Haughwout said, "and how important it became to the quality of her life."

 Tash, one of the first two Labradors trained in the jail, returned to South Florida last year. He's the sidekick of Jared Main, 9, of Coconut Creek, who has cerebral palsy.

 "Jared is never alone," said his mother, Amy Main. "When his friends come up and play, Tash is right there. When his friends are not there, Tash is right there."

 Tash makes Jared want to walk more.

 "Who doesn't want to walk their dog?" Main said.

 She likes that dogs such as Tash not only help her son, but also people in jail who are trying to improve their lives.

 "They had gone astray," she said, "and they ended up in a bad situation turned into this positive."

 Staff Researcher Barbara Hijek contributed to this report.   Jerome Burdi can be reached at jjburdi@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6531.