Paws In Prison

Charles Couch has been in prison for 3 decades. He is facing a life sentence, convicted for what he refers to as a crime of passion.

“I caught my wife with another man together and I killed them both. And that was 33 years ago almost,” he told KATV.

No one would expect a man like Couch to have a soft or compassionate side. But then he met Honey, a rescue dog in the Paws in Prison program. The Arkansas Depart of Correction prison is marrying prisoners with the pups on “doggy death row.”

The rescues are each trained by prisoners, which will make them ready for adoption, and able to avoid being euthanized. Though it may sound unusual, unconventional methods to reach the hardened crowd of inmates have seen a ton of success. In some prisons, the inmates are reformed by training horses!

“She’s taught me — I don’t know, to love again I guess,” Couch says of Honey. She’s the third dog he has trained but perhaps the most special to him. Unlike the other dogs he has trained, he lets Honey sleep in the bed with him.

“When they come to us they’re getting their second chance. When they go to their new owner, they’re getting paroled, they’re getting clemency,” Couch says.

Another inmate, William Bentley, is learning a lot about himself through the program as well. Bentley was convicted of aggravated robbery.

“He’s taught me patience, responsibility. I’m not used to having to take care of anybody other than myself. On the street my mama was taking care of me so it taught me how to take care of something other than me,” he says. “I was anti-social and having him has made me social because everybody wants to pet the dog. Everybody wants to rub him and see him and talk to him and I have to deal with them also.”


The Paws in Prison program has been shown to reduce violence in prison and turn the lives of these inmates around.

15 Things You Do That Are Unintentionally Breaking Your Dog’s Heart

There are several things we as puppy parents unintentionally do that mess with our dogs’ emotions. No matter how hard we try in our effort to be perfect, some of our human ways can lead to one confused pup. And sending mixed signals to our pups will make them more likely to misbehave. But is it really bad behavior, or bad communication?

Here are fifteen common puppy-parenting missteps you can easily avoid.

[via facebook]

Oahu SPCA animal shelter

KANEOHE, Hawaii —The Oahu Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Oahu SPCA) broke ground on Hawaii’s largest animal shelter at noon on Monday.

Click here to watch Paula Akana's report.

It’s located on 2.2 acres in Kahaluu surrounded by 18 acres of preservation land. The facility will be able to house more than 300 animals each day. It will also include a pond for abandoned fish (ex: Japanese koi), to be built by the USDA’s National Resource Conservation Service.

“We will be housing rescue koi fish that live 200 years and also providing a breeding ground for endangered birds and other wildlife,” said Stephanie Ryan, Oahu SPCA President.

In addition, there will be a predator fence and within the one-acre pond will be an island for safe refuge.

Oahu SPCA is continuing to look for donations to help. It was made possible by state grants totaling $535,000 that Representative Scott Saiki and others pushed for.

“The legislature really wanted to support organizations that provide animal welfare services,” said Rep. Saiki. “This one was particularly important because it’s a no-kill shelter.”

According to Ryan, once the concrete pier foundation is up, their structures can go up in eight days. They are hoping to be open in the next few months. Currently, there are about 170 animals at the facility in Kalaeloa, all anxious for a permanent home.

“It’s important to have a permanent home for those who care for the homeless, so we are very blessed that we have such an amazing property and support of the community to make this dream come true,” said Ryan.

To learn more about the new shelter or to make a donation, visit the “As Seen On” section of KITV.com.

Lucy and Rufus

Most of you -- Susan's and my readers -- are familiar with out Yellow Lab siblings, Rufus and Lucy, whom we've had since about their fourth day out of the womb.  Over the years, we've referenced them in our columns to make points about "unconditional love" and the sheer joys of dog companionship.

Both dogs have had the potential to outlive their normal live expentancy.

Lucy barely did.  We lost her last New Year's Eve at just over 14 years (equivalent to 98 human years) as a result of liver cancer, and enervating effects of spinal surgery and knee replacement surgery.

Rufus is still hangin' in there.  His main problems are ones to which I can personally relate, difficulty walking, in his case because of serious, classic Labrador hip dysplasia, whereby the "socket" portion of his hip joints have deteriorated so badly they no longer hold the ball portion of the joint up into the socket, so they tend to become "disjointed" when he walks.

When he collapses, we have to put a padded sling under his belly to lift him up high enough to get his hips straight down under him again so he can walk forward.

Oh, and there's the issue of his forgetfulness and dementia.  Now pushing 15 years, he's like a little old man trying to adjust to the loss of his lifetime partner.

When Lucy passed, we buried her down in the lower part of the yard where she used to just roam by the hour, pushing through shrubbery, inhaling each new smell of the day, and barking a fierce warning at any living thing that traversed the pathway just outside the chain-link fence.

Our daughter Kim Isaac, currently the practicing "artiste du jour" of the family, made a beautiful mosaic tile with Lucy's name on it for a marker.  She has promised a matching tile with Rufus' name when the time comes.

So this cool, shady place in our lower yard has taken on significance the likes of which we had never planned.  It will always be the focal point for so many warm and happy memories of Rufus and Lucy, and the joy they brought into our lives.

Every family should be so blessed.

And remember, dog spelled backwards is God.  And I think that simply is too profound a coincidence to just write it off as God messin' with our heads.

-- Jerry Coffee, MidWeek, July 15, 2015