Celebrated Vet & Author Joins the Efforts
By Susan Spisak
Photo Credit: Nora Parkington
In 2017, a special program, Prison Puppy Program, began at the Maine Correctional Facility in Warren in conjunction with America’s VetDogs where residents aka handlers
are raising and training puppies as service dogs for veterans and first responders with disabilities. This offers handlers an opportunity to give back to society, to make the life of the recipient better, and to learn valuable life skills as an animal trainer. The facility’s then Warden, now Commissioner of Maine Department of Corrections, veteran Randall “Randy” Liberty, was a champion for the program.
Paula Giardinella, Prison Program Manager for the Smithtown, NY based Guide Dog Foundation & America’s VetDogs, said the Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, or Golden-Lab mixed puppies arrive at their respective prison at about 10 weeks of age and are there until they’re about 16 months old. They’re with their resident handler 24/7, and following a strict curriculum, they work on obedience, task, and house- and crate-training to maximize their success as service dogs. For further socialization, volunteer Weekend Puppy Raisers step in. They open the pup’s experiences to the outside world with family life interaction and visits to stores, restaurants, and parks, et al.
Once they complete the prison training, they return to the America’s VetDogs campus in NY for the final steps and subsequent placement with a recipient. While it’s difficult for the handlers to lose their cherished friends, Paula indicated to ease that pain, they usually have another group of pups to slip into the vacated spots. They utilize the same handlers—thus they prefer those with longer terms. This allows them to continually gain experience and serve as mentors to any new puppy raisers.
The program sparked the attention of Maine resident, Craig Rossi, U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Purple Heart Recipient, podcast co-host with wife Nora Parkington, popular author of Craig & Fred: A Marine, A Stray Dog, and How They Rescued Each Other and Second Chances: A Marine, His Dog, and Finding Redemption. He was a guest on Jennifer Rooks “Maine Calling” in 2018 to discuss his first book and how his cheerful social media darling, Fred—the pup he rescued and smuggled home on a military aircraft from Afghanistan—has helped him cope with PTSD. After the show, she said he might be interested in the Maine prison training program, and she’d connect him with Randy. Craig was surprised when he received an email from him inviting him to speak at the prison about his book.
Photo credit: Nora Parkington
Craig was skeptical as he headed to Warren. He had served as a Military Police Officer in South Carolina and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba before transferring to Intelligence. Prisons had a negative connotation for him; in his mind prisoners needed to be
reminded that they were criminals, and he worried how the guards would react to his happy-go-lucky white dog.
The affable dog had no fears once there, “Fred trotted along like we were going to PetSmart.” But it was Craig who was uneasy, “I was the one whose mind was going to be blown. I was foolish.” Randy met him, shook his hand cordially, showered Fred with pats, then said they were going to meet the “men.” Craig thought maybe he meant guards—no, he meant the inmates. Craig said Randy treats the men aka residents with respect, garnering a sense of hopefulness, and desire to change themselves. He had such a change in his mindset as they toured the facility, “It was like walking around with a really popular Mayor.”’’
After he spoke to the men in a conference room, they went to the Veteran’s Pod aka Vets Pod—an area Randy created that offers vets the chance to live together for support in a variety of areas. Craig was astonished as he saw two residents painting a wall mural, one man was doing yoga, and two were training puppies. “Is this a commune?” he thought. He chatted with the men, answered questions, and shared laughs.
He realized that Randy had set the constructive tone of the prison. He had initiated special programs besides dog training such as gardening and beekeeping so the residents could learn valuable skills. By the time he left that day, he knew he wanted to return. Craig said on his drive home, he was overcome with emotion about the outing and cried, while his treasured boy licked the tears from his face.
After returning from a speaking tour later in 2018, he went to the graduation of Chess, the Maine program’s first graduate. Chess was trained by Michael Kidd, an Army vet who Craig had come to know during his visit. He asked Michael what he’d miss the most. His response was simple. Chess didn’t judge him on his mistakes; all he wanted was to give and receive unconditional love.
Between Craig’s rounds of speaking engagements, he returned to the Vets Pod to swap stories. But he wanted to offer more, and the idea came to him organically. In early 2019, Chess’ trainer, Michael, authored “What the Dog Means to Me”. The bottom line was that training Chess had changed Michael’s perspective, his outlook, and made him realize he’s capable of living a productive life. It made him believe the sentence was not a waste of his time and instilled characteristics that would make him a better member of society, father, and husband.
This heartfelt essay opened Craig’s eyes—he wanted to give the residents a chance to arrive at this perspective. “Sure, [the residents] made mistakes…some created a lot of pain. But nobody is beyond redemption. The goal for them is to come out better.” He understood this feeling as he’d had second chances throughout his life, and he’d acquired his optimistic attitude through Nora and by writing on Fred: “Fred gave me the chance to be seen and heard.” Craig emailed Randy with the request to start a writing group there, and the response was an immediate, “YES!”
So, the Purposeful Tales Writing Group was born. He set a syllabus for casual sessions, and a weekly topic so they could slowly open themselves up, “For them, it was a safe space.” Craig’s days at the prison were set. He’d spend a few A.M. hours observing Paula and the trainers, grab lunch, then meet with the writing group.
Craig liked to volunteer in other ways. On one occasion, he was present when a new set of VIPs (very important pups) arrived. The pups were carried into a common area
near the handlers. The idea was to let the puppies run around—the men would usually start cooing at them with baby talk—and the pups would gravitate towards their favorite
handler, allowing them to choose their trainer.
As COVID-19 started, some of the men (Craig refers to them as friends) were transferred to minimum security prisons. They met via Zoom, more men joined the group, and they added a book club, but things evolved. “Covid and the original crew getting released from prison kind of took the momentum from the book club. I've been back a few times to spend time with the men in the Vets Pod but not consistently.”
He added a final thought, “As good as Randy is doing, there is still conflict there…but the dogs give them a touch of humanity,” said Craig. The effect of having puppies at Warren is evident, agreed Paula. “Overall, the puppies change the climate of the prison. There’s no doubt about that. Especially when new puppies arrive. On puppy arrival day many of the staff are beaming from ear to ear.”
Note: Paula shared the America’s VetDogs program is now open to other residents in good standing in the Maine prison, not just vets. The puppy training program is still in place, and twenty dogs have graduated from the Maine State Prison. They have a need for more puppy raisers. To learn more and for the application, vetdogs.org/weekendraiserapp#vaff.
Sadly, Fred passed away at the age of fourteen. Read about him in these books, Craig & Fred: A Marine, A Stray Dog and Second Chances: A Marine, His Dog, and Finding Redemption. The latter includes many of Craig’s experiences at the prison and his fondness for men he met there. They’re easy reads and like an old friend is sharing his stories. Both are available on Amazon. (I found copies at my local library.)
Sarge - Photo credit: Paula Giardinella