Who Let The Dogs Out?

As you walk the grounds of Bowron House, you will often see several kids and at least one dog playing. This is a very normal sight until you realize how truly special this sight is. Bowron House is an open custody unit at the Prince George Youth Custody Centre and the dog, or dogs, are part of a fostering program with the local SPCA. To the best of our knowledge, this is the only program of its kind in Canada.

The proposal for a dog fostering program at PGYCC was first submitted 7 years ago. It was a rather ambitious idea requiring much fine-tuning and re-working to make it feasible. Several staff believed in the program and continued supporting the plan until it became a reality.

Prior to implementing the proposal, the most important group of individuals (the 12 residents at Bowron House) was consulted. All the dog duties and responsibilities would fall on them so they needed to believe in, and want, the dog fostering program. If we did not have their complete support, the program would fail. Each resident was asked to write an essay describing the benefits of having such a program at Bowron House. Some quotes from these essays include: "it will be a good learning experience," "dogs will be good for people to learn some responsibility and take care of something," "dogs are always happy and when you are around them you can't help but smile," "dogs will help with stress," "when we teach the dog to do something we will feel more self-confident," and "all dogs need homes and if we train them, people will want them." The content of the essays was seen as a resounding "yes" from the residents to the dog fostering program.

In the spring of 2002 with a budget of $1200 Bowron staff and kids constructed two kennels. The doghouses were built with and the fencing for the kennels came from Costco. We used gravel to level the pad, which we covered with a large piece of rubber matting. As this was a pilot project, the kennels could not be made permanent.

The SPCA was very excited as the "no kill" moratorium was in effect and Bowron House provided two large kennels for the hard to place dogs. PGYCC has always had a positive relationship with the SPCA as open custody residents from the Centre attend the shelter weekly to help with their kennel duties there. It has been one of our most popular programs.

On May 17, 2002 everything came together and we received our first two dogs- Harley and Ritchie. The Bowron dog program exclusively fosters special needs dogs from the SPCA. We do what's required to make the dog adoptable. This includes socialization, grooming, medicating, and basic training. Many dogs we receive have been abandoned, abused, or neglected and need extra attention that they cannot receive at the SPCA shelter. As of this article, we have had a 100% adoption rate for the dogs that we have fostered. Wehave raised two litters of puppies and all 18, including the moms, were adopted within days. A total of 37 dogs have been saved through the Bowron House program.

The program has also received strong community support. The materials for the kennel roof were donated by a local business. We have also had excellent co-operation from a local pet store, Petcetera. This store takes the dogs when they leave Bowron and promotes their adoption. This is done by having a sign in the store advising that the dog is from Bowron House, explaining a little about the program, and providing any information we give them about the animal. We are told our dogs are preferred for adoption due to the treatment they receive at Bowron.

Another aspect of the program is about responsible dog ownership. To facilitate this we have a veterinarian who volunteers her time to talk to the Bowron House residents. During her presentation, she examines and vaccinates the dog.

This program has been going for nine months now and we firmly believe it has benefited not only the dogs and the community, but also has had a significant impact on the youth. In preparing this article, the youth were again asked for written comments on the value of this program and here is a sample of what they had to say:

"It's amazing to see the dogs recover. It's great supporting the dog and is a good learning experience."

"Dogs make you have patience.... its a really good exercise too."

"It's a good program as we learn more about the animals and we have a little more companionship too"

"If we didn't have this program a lot of dogs wouldn't be alive today."

"It's good because when you get mad you have someone to talk to and take for a walk."

Although there has been a complete changeover in the youth at Bowron House since the program began, the original comments made by residents remain consistent today. The dog-fostering program has instilled responsibility, patience, and learning within the youth at Bowron while providing valuable companionship and increasing morale. The program has provided a valuable service to the community, which is something everyone can be proud of. We hope to make this program a permanent fixture at the Centre and there are plans to upgrade, and possibly expand, the kennels in the near future.

Lisa Hendricks

Youth Supervisor, Bowron House