ngel’s muzzle is peppered with white dots, which are healed bite marks from a prior life. She was mere hours from being euthanized at an animal shelter in Alabama. For the average shelter dog adopter, Angel didn’t have a chance. Whatever caused those bite scars had made her distrustful of humans and other dogs, a cowering, tail-tucking dog unlikely to be chosen by anybody.

And then, Angel’s lucky day happened. Volunteers from the DAWGS Prison Program, based in Pottsville, arrived at the high-kill shelter to rescue Angel and a pack of dogs a lot like her. The dogs were loaded into crates on a bus to make the trip to Pennsylvania.

The dogs are taken to a veterinarian, Companion Animal Hospital, Tamaqua, where they are vaccinated, spayed or neutered and treated for fleas, ticks, worms and other parasites. They are then dispersed to three participating correctional institutions in Schuylkill County — the state prisons at Frackville and Mahanoy City, and the federal prison, Minersville.

Amy and Steve Eckert, owners and operators of Brierwood Kennels in Pottsville, match the dogs with inmates and oversee training sessions at the prisons, two times a week at each prison. Currently, 24 dogs are spread out in the three prisons. Each dog has a crate inside a cell, where two inmates are housed. Both inmates are responsible for the care and training of the dog, including feeding, nail care and bathing. A dog’s typical stay in the DAWGS program is about a month before they are ready for adoption.

Recently, on a sunny Thursday, the Eckerts visited SCI-Mahanoy to check on the status of the dogs and their training. As she often does, SCI-Mahanoy Superintendent Theresa DelBaso dropped in on the class.

One of the dogs in the class was Angel. Just a few weeks into her training, she walked confidently on her leash, sat and laid down on command, and offered a paw to shake. She carried her tail high, and kept it wagging. The dogs interacted with their trainers, as well as other trainers and dogs.

One at a time, the dogs were put through their paces, demonstrating their knowledge of the basic commands, such as sit, down and here. Ranging in size from a wee Chihuahua-terrier mix to a large shepherd-type mix, the dogs got along with each other. All around were smiles and moments of pride.

It would be hard to say just who is teaching who.

Mike (not his real name) has trained more than 10 dogs which have been successfully adopted.

“I didn’t know anything about training dogs, and at first I just tried to stay with the program,” Mike said. “But every dog is different, and if the training isn’t working, you have to try a slightly different way.”

“Working with the dogs has taught me a lot — about being patient and about not giving up, about finding a way to communicate,” he added. “It taught me things I needed to know about life.”

Remy (not his real name) applied for the DAWGS program with little desire to work with dogs.

“I mean, look around, there’s nothing to do,” he said. “I saw others in the program and just wanted something to fill the time.”

Remy has also trained more than 10 dogs that have been successfully placed with families. As he talks, his current trainee remains riveted on the ball Remy holds, and he sits, lies down and rolls over, all to be rewarded with the ball.

“They (the dogs) come here and at first they are mystified, but in just a few days their personalities are coming out — this guy is a gentle giant,” he added. “I’m glad the program is here and lucky to be part of it.”

Amy Eckert said that dogs and people deserve a chance to rewrite their story.

“DAWGS Prison Program is all about second chances, for both the dogs and inmate handlers,” she said. “The dogs — many coming from overwhelmed shelters in the south — get a second chance at life, and the handlers get a chance to learn new skills.”

How DAWGS evolved

The Eckerts have been involved with rescue for nearly 30 years.

“I started apprenticing under another trainer due to seeing so many dogs returned or dropped off to shelters for various easily corrected reasons,” Amy Eckert said. “We started our own training in home and group classes as well as the boarding kennel, but our passion has always been rescue dogs and rehabilitating and training them.”

“I reached out to several of the local prisons, and it took roughly three years to get the program started — we have been running DAWGS for nearly five years,” she added. “I believe we have the largest prison dog program in the state, if not many other states.”

Christine Griffin, in charge of G Block at SCI-Mahanoy, said that the selection process for prospective dog handlers is careful and strict.

“There are two handlers per dog, and they have to be able to work together, with each responsible for the dog and its training,” Griffin said. “They also have to be able to follow the training standards and do the work.”

Eckert said that dogs that come from the DAWGS program are more than ready to be matched with an adopter or adopting family.

“I believe there are huge benefits since our dogs do not live in kennels — they are with someone 24/7 and we truly know our dogs very well,” she said. “They are fully crate trained, very well-socialized, housebroken and well started with their obedience commands.”

Eckert added that the rescue dogs always represent a huge variety of breeds, sizes, ages and activity levels. The Eckerts meet with potential rescuers, and with input from the trainers about the dogs’ personalities, make good matches between dogs and adopters.

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