(WWJ) On one hand you've got inmates tasked with paying a debt to society through hours and hours of idle time and contemplation; On the other, there's dozens of dogs in the shelter, desperate for attention and manners instruction.
A pilot program in Ingham County puts the two together like peanut butter and jelly.
Ingham County Sheriff Scott Wriggelsworth calls the program a "A New Leash on Life."
Through it, dogs in the shelter will go over to the jail and inmates who receive clearance will walk the dogs and play with them, even teach them basic commands.
'The animals are begging for attention, a lot of these animals have been neglected for weeks if not months or years," Wriggelsworth told WWJ's Beth Fisher. "They're clamoring for some attention. The more we can get them socialized, the more likely they are to go to a good home. And a lot of the inmates are animal lovers."
The program will be voluntary, and carried out inside a vacant space of the jail.
Right now only a small number of inmates participate in the program but Wriggelsworth says they have already gotten plenty of requests to join.
"I've got plenty of people here who have idle time on their hands," Wriggelsworth said, adding there's not enough staff at the shelter to go around so the more helpers they can get ... the better.
Not everyone will be welcomed into the program, he added. Acceptance is based on good behavior.
