San Quentin residents and their four-legged tail-wagging trainees visited a Northern California prison in an effort to expand the Canine Companions Program. 

Correctional Officers escorted incarcerated dog handlers Jared Hansen, 42; Chase Benoit, 29; and service dogs Ferguson, Cedric, and Jermone to the California Medical Facility in Vacaville, California.

Their trip was to observe the future location of the housing area at CMF where service dogs and their handlers would reside. The goal of the day’s excursion was to have open dialogue between the two facilities and to lay the groundwork for expansion. 

“Being invited to another institution to discuss what we’ve learned about starting a dog program is validation of its importance,” Hansen said. “To have the opportunity to help this program grow is awesome because it will allow us to train more service dogs that will have a positive impact on people’s lives.”

The visit allowed the experienced dog handlers a chance to share their insight and general knowledge about what it takes to start and run a dog program.

Canine Companions, the sponsors of the program, is a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide highly trained service dogs to people with disabilities free of charge.

San Quentin Correctional Officer S. Dearmore said that upon arrival, CMF’s Associate Warden, L. Bravo, the community resource staff, Canine Companions representatives, and future resident dog handlers welcomed his group. 

During Bravo’s tenure at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, he helped start the dog program there with Lt. B. Haub, Public Information Officer Lt. G. Berry, and Canine Companions representatives.

Bravo wants to continue the collaboration with the people and resources that helped make San Quentin’s program successful.

“I think CMF will be the fifth prison in California to launch a dog program,” Dearmore said. “With all of us working together, it will give the new location the best chance to hit the ground running.”

After returning to SQRC, resident dog handler Benoit said that the observations and discussions he had at the other facility reminded him of both the challenges and rewards of his own journey. 

“To think this little guy will soon be out there as a service to someone in need makes it all worthwhile,” he said, looking down at his tail-wagging trainee.

Benoit explained that it takes everybody working together to train and care for a service dog. This program allows communities inside and beyond the walls to work together and achieve the same goal of helping people with disabilities.

“We ran into some obstacles when we started this program at San Quentin,” Benoit said. “Having the opportunity to go to CMF and help them understand our growing pains gave us the chance to set the next generation of service dogs up for success.”