Working in the field of marketing and public relations for nearly a decade, I’ve been fortunate to experience some incredibly cool events over that time. I’ve been on the field for Florida Marlins home games during the 2003 World Series run; I’ve walked with the elephants from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus; I sat on the couch and was interviewed by Katie Couric on the Today Show for a local book club; I’ve zip-lined through the jungle canopy of the Costa Rican rainforest; and I’ve even played golf at Torrey Pines one week after the PGA’s Buick Invitational. While all absolutely rewarding, fascinating and completely interesting in their own right; yesterday’s trip to the Sago Palm Work Camp up in Pahokee was one of the most unique experiences of my life.Sago Palm is a satellite work camp of the nearby Glades Correctional Institution state prison. It may not be Leavenworth’s maximum security penitentiary, but there is no denying that this is prison - double barbed wire fences, security outposts, guards, patrols, heavy locked doors, one-way-in and one-way-out, cell blocks, and the yard. It’s intimidating, nerve-racking and overwhelming all at once.
I was there in support of a client who is raising funds on behalf of the first Prison Pup program in the state. Each puppy (6 Golden Retrievers and 2 Labradors) are assigned to a pair of prisoners who teach them how to become certified service dogs for the disabled, ideally veterans returning from Iraq or Afghanistan. The dogs live with the prisoners 24-7 and after about 18 months, they will be placed with their new disabled owners.
The thing that struck me the most about entering a prison for the first time in my life were the sounds. The thundering clash and heavy clunk of the locking steel doors behind you has to be one of the most sobering noises in all of humanity. Once you hear that sound for real, there is no turning back.
I expected that we would be quickly ushered into a room near the entrance of the prison to meet the dogs, their trainers and watch a quick presentation. To my surprise, we were escorted by a guard down a long, sterile hallway to another set of double security doors around which I could see the prison’s yard and cell complex through the security control office windows. And there I was, 40 seconds later after another series doors, standing outside in the yard of the Sago Palm Work Camp.
Flashes of television shows, movies and documentaries ran immediately through my mind. I thought instantaneously of where I would run to, how I would defend myself and what I would ultimately be willing to do to escape any situation that might arise. Thirty steps later and my over-active imagination running full throttle; I kind of stopped, took a deep breath and really looked around. Eerily, it was somewhat calm. All eyes from the maybe 20 inmates in the yard were decidedly upon us, but a nice breeze was blowing in from the east and off in the distance you could see the sugar cane fields and their plants rattling together in the wind. The irony of where we were and the relative tranquil nature of what was on the outside was not lost on me. In fact, it was decidedly overwhelming at the moment.
Across the yard, we were greeted by another set of double security doors at the entrance to one of the cell blocks. Once we were through and standing in front of another security control office window, we were shuttled into an adjoining classroom where the prisoners and their dogs were waiting. The thing that struck me was the long line of prisoners waiting to enter the area we were in, which I noticed out of the corner of my eye. They were obviously held there until we had cleared the space. Security was and is never taken lightly.
So there I am, sitting in a room with nearly a couple dozen prisoners and their dogs. I’ve read their bios. These guys are in prison for a reason – manslaughter, dealing, using, grand theft, breaking and entering and certainly many things in between. But there was something about these dogs that was making a difference. You could see it in their eyes and hear it in their proud voices as they led their puppies through a variety of training exercises. There was love, compassion, emotion and heart evident in all of them once you looked past their prison blue uniforms.
It remains unclear whether these types of programs ultimately help rehabilitate prisoners and assist them in becoming better citizens upon release, but it was evident from talking to the prisoners and the guards that there is sense of optimism in the prison, which wasn’t there before. Humanity was palpable and that was not something I ever expected to find on my first trip into a prison.
While I had hoped to shoot some photographs and record audio; absolutely no cell phones, cameras or recording devices of any nature were permitted inside. However this video clip from a recent Sun-Sentinel story about the Prison Pup program at Sago Palm helps add some perspective to this post.
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