Well here is another attempt at a blog. I want to tell anyone who might be interested, what it feels like, looks like and sounds like working with teenagers and dogs who are “at-risk”. That is a pretty broad term so let me clarify. In this case I specifically mean kids who are incarcerated. Sometimes I will also include kids who have been kicked out of school and are in an alternative school with the intention of keeping them from being incarcerated. The dogs are also at risk because they have been abandoned or lost and are looking at time in a shelter or a possibility of euthanasia. The hope here is that when these kids and dogs find each other, they can save each other. Sounds lofty, but in fact, that’s what happens (most of the time). I asked the boys who are in the program to write material for this blog. I thought you might like to hear from them. But before I share some of their words, just let me mention that we are just starting a new session on Monday the 24th of January. That means we spend the Sunday before doing temperament/behavior assessments of the dogs. This is what struck me, just now; the similarities are almost eerie. Today’s dog, with the exception of one did not move me. I know there is potential in all of them (my mind knows this) but none of them “got to me”- except one. And that is almost always how it is with the boys. One will somehow evoke all of my motherly instincts right away. But what always happens is that the dogs and the boys that have the hidden potential are the ones that make this program vital and valuable. And so here we go into our new session…..looking for the diamonds in the rough.
Here’s the first contribution to the blog from a student, I’ll call him “D” and I quote, “I love the dog program. I learn new things everyday when attending the program. It teaches people how to work with others and animals and it taught me to have patience and responsibility”. He wrote this before he got his own dog to train. This may sound silly, but he has been learning about training and practicing with a dog from the last session. One of the students from the previous session taught “D” how to work with his dog and allowed him to get comfortable with the idea of taking responsibility for a living, breathing untrained dog. Most kids would not elect to have a dog live with them because they are intimidated by the commitment. The seasoned students pave the way and show that it’s possible to learn all they need to know to handle the job.
So D’s blog contribution is the kind of information I call the first layer. We haven’t had any conflict yet, or feelings of frustration with a less than perfect dog and we don’t yet know the pain inside of a kid who charts a course that leads to incarceration at age 15 or 16. I, of course, love what he writes and am happy he feels this way, but he is still trying to please me by saying what he believes is the right thing to say and what is expected. In my opinion, this is not to be diminished. Please note, a child who is incarcerated in a medium security facility that wants to do the right thing, wants to please and wants a chance is a very good thing. It is reason for hope. It is information that says these children care and can be reached. What more could I ask for at the start? Tomorrow this boy will get a dog to live with for the next 8 weeks (minimum). We will see how they progress. There will be lots of stories. There are always lots of stories.
There is sooooo much to say, but this will do for day one.
