by Dan Walsh
“Really?”
“That’s right. So we let him do it, at least for a little while.”
Amy could see that Finley didn’t seem to mind nearly as much as she did. “Well, thanks for explaining. One more thing I learned about dogs that I never knew before.”
“You’re just getting started. There’s a ton more to learn. I remember when I first came into the program, I thought I knew everything about dogs. Had ‘em my whole life. But I didn’t know nothing. Found out pretty much all my opinions were totally off. But it’s a lot of fun when you find out what they’re really up to. And it makes it a whole lot easier to train ‘em.”
“I can’t wait till we get started,” Amy said. “By the way, know when that is? When we’ll start having group classes?”
“First thing tomorrow morning, right after breakfast. You read that booklet they gave you yet?”
“Most of it.”
“Well, read all of it. Read it through a couple of times. It helps to know all the terms Miss Brenda will use while she teaches. That way you won’t look so stupid, constantly interrupting her with questions during the class.”
“All right, I will. Thanks.” She turned to Finley. “Okay Finley, let’s go check out your new room.” She headed toward the doorway in the corner, leading to the dorms.
Through the hallway, several more inmates who hadn’t seen Finley yet stopped what they were doing to admire him as he passed. And of course, their dogs took turns “small-talking” with his behind. Finley even returned the favor and sniffed a few himself. It was so hard for Amy not to make him stop.
She was at least relieved to see that all the dogs were getting along. She made it into her room without a single tense moment.
After quickly closing the door, she unlatched Finley’s leash and set it on a hook hanging on the wall above his crate. He stood there a moment just looking at her. Then his head swiveled around taking everything in. She sat on the edge of the bed. He came up to her and sat between her legs. With them both sitting this way, his head was just a few inches shorter than hers.
“This is your new room, Finley. You’ll be staying with me from now on. Well, a few months anyway.” She had no idea if dogs had any sense of time. The dog book said they tended to live in the moment. She wanted to make this moment as pleasant for him as possible. She got up partway and opened his crate door. “See this? This is yours. It’s your crate.”
He looked at her and at the crate, but she could tell he didn’t understand. Then she remembered what Kim said. Pulling out the bag of treats, she unzipped the top. That got his attention.
“You like this smell?” She held the baggy under his nose. He inhaled deeply and began nudging it, like he was trying to get it open. His tail began to thump against the throw rug. “I wonder how they smell.” She took a whiff. “Wow, that’s not half bad. I expected it to stink. You want one of these?”
She pulled out a couple and walked to his crate. She opened the door and held the treat inside the crate. “Want this? You can have it.” She set it down on the pad then set the second one toward the back of the crate. She sat back on the bed to watch.
Finley looked at her, then at the crate.
“Go ahead. You can have it.”
His tail still wagging, he took a few steps until his head leaned inside. He looked back at her.
“You can have it, Finley. Go ahead.”
He quickly lowered his head to the mat and ate it. Then without hesitating, he stepped in the rest of the way to get the second treat. After he finished, he spun around quickly as if he expected to be locked inside.
But Amy didn’t move. “Good boy. You want another one?” She pulled another treat out of the bag and held it out in her palm.
His tail began to bang back and forth against the crate. It continued to wag as he stepped through the door in her direction. He was liking this, and that made her so happy.
There was a knock on the door. Rita poked her head in. “In about five minutes bring him over to my room. I’ll take you over to where we keep the food, so you can give him his first meal. We always have the trainers feed their dogs. Helps the dog sort out who matters. Strengthens the bond.”
“Okay, thanks.”
Finley came all the way out of the crate and, after eating the treat in her hand, sat next to her. Then he did something wonderful. He got this contented look on his face and leaned against her leg. She had read in the book that dogs did this for three reasons: for affection, to feel secure, or for dominance. Amy could tell Finley wasn’t trying to dominate her, which meant he did it either to express affection or to feel more secure. Either one was totally fine with her.
They’d been together for less than thirty minutes but, already, Amy understood why people called them man’s best friend.
After enjoying this moment a bit longer, her thoughts drifted to tomorrow morning and her first group training class. She remembered that she was the rookie here. Everyone else knew what they were doing.
She had never even owned a dog before.
26
Finley heard some commotion and woke up. It took him a few moments to realize where he was, and to remember how he’d gotten here. Looking out from behind some bars, he realized the commotion came from a door opening, a woman’s voice saying something, then the door closing again. Next, the young woman who began caring for him yesterday, woke up from her sleep and sat up in her bed.
Finley was pretty sure her name was Amy. He’d heard several different people call her that, including the woman who’d just poked her head in the door.
The noise had awakened him from a pleasant dream. He’d been running and playing “fetch the ball” in an open field. Sometimes Kim was throwing the ball, other times Chaz.
“Good morning, Finley. How did you sleep?”
It was Amy. Finley stretched. She reached for him, sticking her fingers through the bars. He licked them, seemed the polite thing to do.
“Hope you were comfortable. I didn’t want to put you in that crate, but I was told you wouldn’t mind. Hope they were right. But you can get out now, if you want. There’s some food in your bowl. Guess you weren’t hungry last night. And there’s some fresh water, if you want it.”
Finley had no idea what she was saying, but he liked the way she talked. So far, she had only used this nice voice. He also liked how much attention she was giving him. He wondered if she’d be somebody he could begin to look to, somebody permanent. Maybe it was too soon to think that way.
She slid the latch over on his crate door and opened it. It was nice to know he could get out, but he wasn’t in a terrible hurry. He hoped she had plans to take him outside soon. Those urges were starting to rumble.
“Don’t want to come out? That’s okay.” She reached over, closed his door, slid the latch back over and locked it. “I’m just going to leave you in there for a minute while I go to the bathroom. While I’m out there, I’ll find out how much time we have until our first class. Okay? You stay in there, and I’ll be right back.”
Now what was she doing? Had he done something wrong by not getting out of the crate? She didn’t seem upset. He watched her get up and leave, closing the door behind him.
Everything seemed to be fine. Everyone seemed to be fairly happy and positive. Both the humans Finley could see, as well as the other dogs. But he had absolutely no idea what was going on, or what to expect. They were back in the big open room he had walked through yesterday.
A good bit of time had passed since Amy had let Finley out of the crate. When she had returned to the room, she was definitely not upset. She still talked to him in a happy voice. And she’d used that same happy voice all morning. After walking him in the yard long enough to go to the bathroom, she’d put him back in the crate a short while, which he didn’t mind, since she had given him two of those yummy treats.
Once again, she’d left the room but wasn’t gone long. At least, he didn’t think so. He had fallen asleep. When she’d retur
ned, she led him out of the crate on a leash and brought him here. Finley noticed then for the first time that all the women holding dogs on leashes wore the same clothes as Amy. Except for the woman at the front of the room. He remembered her. She had been with Kim.
A few moments later, all the women with dogs, including Amy, spread out on either side the room in two groups. He and Amy were near the end of one line, close to the wall. He wasn’t sure what came next, but he didn’t really care. All of the dogs seemed friendly, and so did the other women holding their leashes.
And best of all, he could smell the strong aroma of treats. Some were in their hands but even more were in their pockets.
Amy looked down at Finley, standing next to her. Miss Brenda stood in the center against the far wall. All the other inmates along with their dogs were lined up in two rows on opposite sides of the room, facing each other. She was about to experience her first dog training class.
Miss Brenda began to speak again. “Before we start, have you new girls read the manuals we gave you?” Her gaze shifted between two other inmates, then rested on Amy.
Amy had thought she was the only one who was new. The other girls nodded that they had, and Amy said, “I did, too.”
“Good,” Brenda said. “That’ll keep me from having to repeat myself too many times. Most of you girls have been through this a number of times, but for the sake of you newer ones, I’ll explain some of the basic things we’re going to teach you this morning. Well, that you’re going to teach your dogs.” She held up one of the treats. “Ladies, what do we call these, besides treats?”
“Lures!” A number of ladies called out.
“That’s right, lures. I’ll call them both things from time to time. The reason we call them lures is that we use them to lure the dog into performing a behavior we want him to do. As you all know, dogs love treats. Some treats better than others. We make sure to use only treats we know they’ll love when we train them. Treats, or lures, along with petting are one of the main ingredients in positive reinforcement methods. Don’t even think about training without them.”
“Okay,” Brenda said. “We’re going to start off teaching the dogs to sit. Dogs like to sit, of course. The idea is to get them to sit when we want them to, on command. After that, we’re going to teach them to focus. After we get them to sit, we want them to focus on our eyes until we have their undivided attention. Believe it or not, this is a very simple thing to teach a dog. Dogs are one of the only creatures on the planet that will actually look humans straight in the eye. We’re going to get them to do that for a treat and, later, get them to do it just because we asked.”
Brenda looked around the room, spotted Rita. “Rita, tell these newer gals why it’s so important to teach every dog these basic skills.”
Rita came to the front with her dog and turned to face the ladies. “Guess I could say it this way. Dogs are not multitasking creatures. Which means, they can only do one thing at a time. Trouble is, sometimes the one thing they’re doing is something we don’t like or don’t want them to do. Instead of yelling at them or telling them to stop, the trick is to get them to do something else instead.”
“Re-direct them,” Brenda added. “We also call it counter-conditioning.”
“Right,” Rita said. “Like putting them in a sit, or a sit and focus. When those behaviors become second nature to them, you give those commands and they’ll stop the bad thing and do the thing you’re telling them. Then you can redirect them into the behavior you want them to do instead.”
“Very good,” Brenda said. “Did you all get that?” Everyone said yes, or nodded. “Good. So let’s get started. I’m going to show you how to put them in a sit, just using a hand signal. You won’t even have to say the word.”
Amy was really liking this. So far, it all made perfect sense. Of course, she still had a thousand things to learn. She looked down the row at all the other inmates, then down at Finley. She felt like she was standing next to the finest dog in the entire group. Overnight, he had already surpassed the Shepherd.
Part III
Two Months Later
27
Amy
Over the past two months, Amy and Finley had become the closest of friends. Perhaps, too close.
That thought had begun to surface during the past two weeks. Amy had stomped it out every time it did. During that time, the Prison Paws and Pals Program had opened its doors to begin inviting military veterans to come in and observe the dogs and their training.
The real reason for these visits was to begin to let the vets become acquainted with the dogs, and the dogs with them. Almost all these vets suffered from various stages of PTSD. Some significantly so. Miss Bridget had gathered the newer inmate-trainers together before the vets first visit to help them understand what they were about to experience.
She explained they should make no effort to push their dogs toward one vet over another. Instead, let the vets mingle and interact with the dogs at their own pace, and let the selection process happen organically. Don’t be overly talkative or try to “sell” your dog to them. Picking out a companion dog is a very personal decision. The veterans need to feel totally confident about the dogs they end up with.
The presence of the vets had even affected the training itself. Since the dogs knew all the basic commands and followed instructions without hesitation, the training had shifted toward getting the dogs ready to care for the “invisible wounds” many of the veterans struggled with. Amy could see several suffered from obvious physical wounds, as well. Some were missing limbs; some were in wheelchairs; some were burn victims.
Quite a few matches had already been made. In fact, after the last interaction with the vets, Rita told Amy the majority of the dogs had been paired with their new owners, including Charlie, her pit-mix. Soon the inmate-trainers would begin teaching the veterans how to train the dogs themselves, so they could do the same things with the dogs when they brought them home.
At the moment, Charlie and Finley were playing in her room. Amy was glad they didn’t understand what was coming down the road. Graduation day was less than a month away. After that, these two best friends would be split up and likely never see each other again.
She dreaded the idea. Not just for the confusion and doggie-grief they’d experience. She knew in time, once they had bonded with their new owners, they would adjust fairly well.
The real question was, would she?
When she looked at Finley now, she didn’t just see a beautiful dog. Over the last two months, he had become so much more. A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. She looked up to see Rita popping her head inside. Amy was glad for the distraction.
Finley and Charlie were engaged in a fierce tug-of-war over what had once been a stuffed possum. When they had first begun to play together, it made Amy nervous. Charlie would growl and make so much noise. Finley was bigger, but with Charlie’s huge head and broad shoulders he seemed to have a decided advantage. She’d always heard pits were fighting dogs, and she didn’t want Finley to get hurt. The whole time, Charlie’s tail would wag, but still.
In time Amy’s fears disappeared. It soon became clear, Charlie was nothing but a fun-loving dope. He didn’t have a mean bone in his body. He loved people, and he absolutely loved Finley.
“Does Finley ever win these tug-of-wars?” Rita said.
“No. But he never gives up easily.” Just as Amy said this, Finley dug his feet into the floor and began backing up. Charlie was still on the throw rug, so he slid across the room.
“Hate to break up the fun,” Rita said, “but that group of veterans will start showing up here in about twenty minutes. Maybe we should take these two out in the yard, so they can take care of business.”
“I forgot they were coming again today.” The thought instantly saddened her. “You suppose they’ll be any new ones coming?”
Rita came in the rest of the way and closed the door behind her. Charlie and Finley both looked up at her b
ut continued their struggle. Charlie had freed himself from the rug, now bunched up by the desk. “I know what you’re going through,” she said. “You really need to get over it.”
“What am I going through?”
“You don’t want anyone to match up with Finley. But you know that’s the whole purpose of this program, right? It’s not about finding you a forever friend. It’s about helping Finley to become someone else’s forever friend.”
Amy sighed. “I know. But how’s that my fault? Nobody’s picked him yet.”
“You know that’s not all that’s going on here. Nobody’s picked him, because you don’t want to let him go. He’s the best looking dog in the program, next to that Shepherd.”
“He’s way better looking than the Shepherd.”
Rita smiled. “Maybe so, but that’s not the point, is it? I’ve seen lots of guys look at him these past few weeks. Some even tried to interact with them, but he completely ignores them. He’s totally focused on you. That’s the only reason he’s not with someone yet.”
“I don’t understand how that’s my fault. You know what we were told. We’re supposed to let things happen by themselves. Let the vets spend time with the dogs and see what happens. Well, I’m there every time. It just hasn’t happened yet.”
“I hear you,” Rita said. “But I think there’s more going on here than that. Finley has chosen you, but it’s a fantasy. He doesn’t know any better. He thinks you and he are together for good now. I think you need to change the way you interact with him, especially during these meetings. Push him out of the nest a little. What I see is him pulling away when these guys show an interest, and you keep comforting and coddling him. You need to be doing the opposite, start sending Finley the opposite signal.”
