By Barbara Morris
At the 105th Precinct and Nassau County's 5th Precinct National Night Out Against Crime at Belmont Park Race Track, one of the things I was given was the Summer 2003 issue of New York Tails.”
It's a magazine for the people and pets of New York, by the wonderful folks from Petland who made their beautiful animals available that night for petting.
They, (and others), have acknowledged the magical bond that can, and often does exist between humans and animals. They also tour, with their animals, to visit the elderly, the ailing, and the young.
It's a big, expensive project for them. They certainly deserve every bit of thanks and praise that they receive – and more. In “New York Tails,” I found an article that was of particular interest since I am very fond of animals and try to learn as much as possible about them and about different aspects of the criminal-justice system. The title of that article was “Jail House Tails – From Rikers to Bedford.” It is about cats and dogs that sometimes have found homes at correctional facilities right here in New York.
As the author, Diane West, noted in the first paragraph, “their unlikely presence at these facilities has sparked some long-lasting friendships between people whose lives may have otherwise never crossed paths, proving once again that animals can build a bridge anywhere they are.”
Some time ago, I toured a portion of Island with a group from The Citizens' Police Academy Alumni Association. At that time, I was surprised to see a number of cats outside. No one seems to know how they got there, but after some years, their family groups became well established. When an inmate trying to escape dived under a trailer, authorities tried to flush him out with tear gas. Instead, cats ran out.
An advocacy/education group for feral cat colonies called “Neighborhood Cats,” the NYC Department of Corrections and other animal welfare groups including The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, The Center for Animal Care and Control, The Humane Society of New York, Kitty Caretakers of Queens, Inc., united to establish a trap-neuter-return project that is believed to be the largest such project in the United States.
About 260 cats were trapped. Some young and friendly enough to be adopted; a few were sick or injured and couldn't be saved, but more than 200 are now cared for by employees of Department of Corrections under the guidance of Capt. Gloria Murli, who received humanitarian awards for her work. Support and sponsorships are for the colony's long-term care and can be sent to: The Riker’s Island Feral Cat Fund, C/o Neighborhood Cats, Inc., 2565 Broadway, No. 555, New York, NY 10025.
The idea of prisoners training Labrador puppies for the task of helping the visually impaired live a full and active life was conceived in 1990 by a Florida veterinarian. Gloria Gilbert Stoga, a former member of the Youth Empowerment Services Commission in the administration of former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani heard and officially began an adaptation of the program. She calls it Puppies Behind Bars, which is now proving to be successful in several correctional facilities in the tristate area. Volunteer prisoners are screened to make sure the puppies won't be hurt and will be properly socialized. The screening is done by staff members of Puppies Behind Bars as well as the prison.
“Mental health, the nature of their crime and the years left on their sentence are all factored in,” according to the article. The inmates are trained and guided constantly by Puppies Behind Bars staff during their 18 month responsibility for training, living, eating and sleeping in the same quarters with the pups. If they successful] complete that part of training, they are sent for three months final training before placement with a visually impaired owner.
Prisoners in the program are helped in many ways, the puppies are helped, and, of course, the new owners are, too. The program receives no governmental grants and is 100 percent privately funded. Donations may be sent to: Puppies Behind Bars, 99 Madison Ave., 2nd Floor, New York, N.Y 10016. For more information, call (212) 924-7404 or e-mail gstoga@puppiesbehindbars.com
