The first two canines have graduated successfully from a pilot program designed to give troubled dogs another chance at finding a forever home while teaching inmates how to handle and train animals.
Beyond the Bars is a project of the Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset, and the Brunswick-based Coastal Humane Society.
Shelter officials say Jake and Melvin were the kinds of dogs least likely to find a home. They were large in size, plus bore the scars from what they describe as “horrific” backgrounds.
But Coastal Humane Society director Joe Montisano says despite their rough start, the two dogs had good personalities — they just needed proper handling, basic training, and a lot of attention, all of which they got from the inmates at the Two Bridges Regional Jail.
“The whole cell block, all the guys interact with them, and they’re free roaming amidst the guys when they’re not being trained, and during the day, so that part is the socialization part. That’s something that is really hard for us to do, because we just don’t have the time,” he says.
Montisano says one of the dogs has been adopted and he expects the second dog will find a home very soon.
Meanwhile, he says the inmates who signed up as trainers have learned a useful skill.
A second round of training is underway, this time with three dogs. And in the coming days, Montisano says he hopes to start the same program for the women’s side of the jail.
