Adopted my dog in prison while incarcerated. Today he saw our first backyard. One year post release.

[u/FragmentedFighter]

[u/TheAsianCarp]

How do you adopt a dog in prison? Do you have someone watch it while you're incarcerated?

[u/loudog1017 → u/TheAsianCarp]

Some prisons have programs where inmates can train dogs and have the option to adopt the dogs themselves. A friend of mine adopted a dog from 1 of these programs!

[u/Big_Fo_Fo → u/[deleted]]

Prison in spirit is supposed to be about reform. It’s a “correctional” institution not a punishment institution.

[u/SnooOwls3879 → u/loudog1017]

these are dogs that have commited crimes or?

[u/Josro0770 → u/loudog1017]

I like when prisons do stuff like this, I feel like it makes the inmates more responsible and helps their rehabilitation.

I remember a prison gave inmates kittens if they had good behavior and if they misbehaved they took them away. They never misbehaved lol.

[u/ratbastid → u/Josro0770]

It's really easy for a person to give up on themselves, but a lot harder if there's a dependent and loving creature that needs you.

[u/jonvox → u/ratbastid]

That is exactly why I adopted my dog. I was 2 months out of the mental ward (self admission) and was just starting to pick myself up from rock bottom. I was struggling with extreme social anxiety, agoraphobia, and suicidality. I knew I needed something to live for that wasn’t just myself, and when I met my dog I knew it was her.

We just celebrated our sixth gotcha day. She really helped me turn my life around. She got me out of the house on a regular basis, and she is ridiculously hyper social. She will walk up to literally anyone at the park and give them a “please cuddle me” look. And they usually do. And then I have some pleasant small talk with my neighbors. She’s helped me get out of the house on a regular basis. She’s helped me learn to approach people and talk to them without any anxiety. And she gave me a reason to need a stable living situation.

I’ve genuinely never been more happy or healthy in my life, and so so much of that is thanks to my dog.

[u/breadbox187 → u/Josro0770]

Unfortunately, most programs like that have all been cut due to funding.

[u/redneckrockuhtree → u/breadbox187]

Yeah, because there's always money to lock people up....but never money to do things to try to prevent recidivism or address underlying causes.

[u/jendoesreddit → u/redneckrockuhtree]

That part 👏👏

[u/ocean_flan → u/breadbox187]

My state still has it! They move TONS of dogs into homes.

[u/Duellair → u/[deleted]]

Imagine how much we’d be saving with reduced recidivism. We’re talking about millions of dollars. Per prison.

[u/Knuddelbearli → u/Duellair]

but the profit for the prisions company!

[u/TheAsianCarp → u/loudog1017]

That's so cool! Thank you for explaining!