Are Pets Allowed in Prison for Visitation?
Visiting your incarcerated loved one is one of the most supportive ways to keep in touch with the inmate. It helps maintain a healthy relationship with the detainee while also giving your loved one morale as they do time. Besides physical visits, you can also connect through video visitations, sending mail, or making phone calls.
Another form of emotional support is having pets; some inmates own pets they are forced to leave behind as they serve their jail terms. Therefore you might want to carry along the inmate’s pet or the family pet during visitation but aren’t sure if it’s allowed.
Like any other social institution, prisons have their own rules regarding visitation—ranging from the dress code to what to carry and what not to carry along. These rules are taken very seriously, and the prison authorities maintain the right to deny visitation if said rules get broken.
The strict visitation rules leave little room for you to visit an inmate with a pet. However, there are circumstances under which pets are allowed in prisons. This article looks into pet visitation in great detail.
Scheduling your Visit
When you’re planning to visit a prison, ensure you prepare adequately and early enough. Notify the jail in question about your visit at least 48 hours before the material day. You can do so over the phone, in person, or online. However, booking a visit over the phone can be inefficient sometimes as you might need to wait for long hours before you get served.
When requesting a visit online, you’ll have to provide information to the prison about your name, email, address, telephone number, your inmate’s name, and PRIS number.
The prison will send you an email confirming your visit that is mandatory for you to access the inmate. So be sure to print the form and carry it along on the day you visit.
You’re also supposed to go through all the prison’s visitation rules, including the dress code and what you can carry. This is when you inquire on whether you can go with your inmate’s pet if they had one or not.
Note that you must be on the inmate’s approved visitation list for your visit to be valid. If you’re not on the list and would like to visit the prison, find a way to talk to your inmate to add you first.
What Items can I Carry to the Prison?
The items you can carry are usually listed in the visitation guidelines, including your identification card, driving license, and car keys. Unfortunately, pets are not allowed during visitation.
Why are Pets not Allowed in Prison Visitations?
The idea of pets visiting you in prison sounds very entertaining and satisfying to many. But, try to imagine the commotion different pets would bring in the visitation rooms! Some pets are usually restless and difficult to control in the presence of other pets, and some can be unfriendly too. They could chase each other around, causing chaos in the visitation room.
Another reason is that some inmates are allergic to pet dander. Other inmates may also have a negative experience and attitude toward some pets. The inmates might be scared of a dog if they were previously bitten or chased by the animal. Some pets have the habit of biting the ankles of people they come across, creating an uncomfortable environment for everyone involved.
However, some prisons allow inmates to interact with pets in one way or another.
Canine Companions for Parole and Canine Prison Programs
As stipulated in the visitation guidelines, pets, including dogs, are not allowed in the visitation rooms. However, programs such as the puppies behind bars and puppies for parole allow inmates to develop strong bonds with canine companions.
In these programs, a selected prisoner can live and train a dog to become a service dog. The service dogs, after training, are adopted by people needing the companion service. Inmates intending to train the dogs are screened to ascertain if they have no record of sexual crimes or animal mishandling.
The puppy to be trained is adopted at the age of 8 weeks. They are then trained for months until they qualify as service dogs for the elderly and people with disabilities.
There are also rehabilitation programs for rescue dogs available in some states. An example is the San Quentin’s Marin Humane Society’s Pen Pals program for low-security prisoners who need rescue dogs. The inmate responsible for the dog trains their dog for six months, teaching the animals obedience skills and how to perform various tasks.
Inmate trainers are allowed to stay with the dogs as temporary roommates. What’s more outstanding is the way these dogs are treated in the prisons. The dogs receive better treatment than the inmates! The canines are provided with a dog wing, a park, and better food than the inmates themselves. Can you imagine that the dogs even have a Halloween parade? The inmate trainers dress up their dogs in special outfits and go all around the camp showing off.
The inmates training the dogs get to learn some incredible skills through communicating and commanding the dog. They also feel worthy as they contribute something positive for the betterment of society. Moreover, the dogs act as companions to the inmates. These trainers become more engaged and have a noted increase in self esteem. Once reintroduced into society, such inmates can also get job opportunities as dog trainers, vet assistants, or dog groomers.
Training Programs for Abandoned Dogs
There are programs in some prisons where the inmates can train abandoned dogs, giving both the inmate and the dog a second shot at life.
The program saves the lives of abandoned dogs that may get slaughtered in shelters across the state. It establishes an opportunity for both the inmate and the dog to help each other.
The inmates’ love and trust from their assigned dogs give them something to look forward to and realize their self-worth. It also reduces the recidivism rate as the trainers become proud members of society with good job prospects when they get released.
Cat Programs
Some prisons have cat programs, although it is a rare program with only a few prisons involved, like the Indiana State Prison. Funny enough, the cats initiated the program twenty years ago. They moved and settled at the prison grounds, and not long after their settlement, they began having kittens. Soon enough, the prison decided to partner with a local animal shelter to start an adoption program for the cats.
Indiana State Prison is a maximum-security prison for inmates serving death row sentences. Fortunately, they are protective of their cats, and they have strong bonds with them. The pets have improved the lives of many inmates by helping them develop self-control and provide a positive atmosphere in the prison.
The cats live in prison, and just like the inmates, they have their ID badges.
If an inmate wants to adopt a cat, they must apply and seek approval from the prison authority. On approval of the application, the inmate will be issued with a cat together within the cell.
The approval for a cat application depends on several factors. The inmate must have a hustle and an inmate trust account that will pay for the cat’s meals and litter without exception.
Another prison that adopted the same program is the Pendleton Correctional center in Indiana. They have Felines and Offenders Rehabilitation with Affection, Reformation, and Dedication program, FORWARD.
The animal protection league executive director Maleah Stringer said there is no difference between adopting the pets in prison and adopting them in the general public, as far as their safety is concerned. Prisoners are more likely to treat the pets well as they know that any misconduct/mistreatment will attract punishment, and they might lose the program.
Conclusion
Pets are not allowed to visit prisons due to the various reasons we’ve discussed, including the chaos they can cause. However, the various pet programs available in some prisons allow inmates to have pets like dogs or cats in their cells. These pets are a companion to the inmate and are helpful in stress management and positive character growth of the prisoner.