TAILS helps both parties

The program that sends rescue dogs to Vandalia Correctional Center and then sends trained dogs back to the rescue is, as Assistant Warden of Programs John Fatheree says, "a win-win for everyone."
Through TAILS (Teaching Animals & Inmate Life Skills), dogs from Second Chance Animal Rescue are taken to VCC, where they are hooked up with pairs of offenders.
The offenders are totally responsible for the dogs as they live with them, and that responsibility includes training the animals.
This type of program is something that Fatheree had been wanting to offer at VCC for some time, and his wish came true when Stephanie Waggoner took over as the prison's warden in April. Waggoner was on board with such a program, and Second Chance jumped at the chance to be a partner.
The "win" for the offenders is that they acquire a pet, have the responsibility of caring for someone other than themselves and learn a skill that they can use once they leave the prison system.
The "win" for Vandalia Correctional Center is that it improves the behavior of the prison's offenders. You see, offenders have to have good records within the facility in order to be considered for TAILS. And, the VCC leadership says, there are many, many offenders clamoring to get involved.
The "win" for Second Chance is that the dogs they get back from VCC are trained, which makes them more attractive for adoption.
The only downside that has been witnessed thus far is the reaction of the offenders when their dog is sent back to Second Chance. But, that feeling is short-lived, for Second Chance has another dog ready to be placed with those inmates.
Incarceration is supposed to be all about rehabilitating offenders, helping them to learn life skills that they can use to become productive members of society. TAILS is one way of doing that, while also helping a local rescue hook up its dogs with new families.
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