Issue date: 4/26/07 Section: Features

Media Credit: AP Photo

DWIGHT, Ill. (AP) - Angela Little sat at a small table, pretending to read a book. When the alarm clock sounded across the room, she ignored it. Her dog, Hannah, rushed over to her and jumped up, trying to get her attention.

Without saying a word, she gestured to the dog, followed her to the alarm clock and turned it off. Hannah got a treat and Little got a sense of accomplishment.

Hannah is in training to be a hearing alert dog. Her trainer, a native of Gibson City, is an inmate at Dwight Correctional Center.

"I figured if I had to be here, what better a program to be in," Little said.

The program, Helping Paws, is the first and only one in Illinois. The first dogs entered the prison in May 2000. Since that time, 116 dogs have passed through the fence at Dwight. Sixty-eight became companion dogs that did not have the qualities needed to be a full-fledged therapy dog. One dog became a demonstration dog, 14 became therapy dogs, 19 became service dogs, and one became a hearing dog. Additionally, four other dogs completed their basic training at Dwight and went on to be trained elsewhere. One became a search-and-rescue dog, and three became drug-detection dogs.

For the women at Dwight, training the dogs is more than just something to pass the time in prison. It is a way to give back and a way to build the life they will start after serving their time.

"It's one of the only employment areas that does not hold them back because they have been incarcerated," Dwight warden Mary Siglar said.

Little has been incarcerated since 1996 after being convicted of first-degree murder. She has learned a lot while incarcerated, including making God a part of her everyday life.

"I don't regret coming here because it has taught me so much," she said. "I would gladly come here, but I would not let someone die in the meantime."

The death of Little's husband landed her in jail. She was convicted of hiring a 15-year-old boy to kill her husband.

Unlike many of the inmates, Little wants to tell parts of her story.

She does not think that there was anything that anyone else could have done to stop the actions that landed her in prison. But, she said, there was something she could have done.

"All I had to do was say no," Little said.

Little did not elaborate much, saying only she was not there when her husband died.

Little is a petite woman with bright eyes and a demeanor that makes you think her caring for a dog is second nature. But, when she is with the dogs, she is a tough trainer. Her mother-in-law was in a car accident and now uses a wheelchair. She was an active person before the accident, and Little knows a dog could help her to regain her independence.

"That always stays in my mind," she said. "I am a strict trainer and I don't let them get away with a lot because that is always on my mind," she said.

The Helping Paws cottage at Dwight has 14 rooms. Each houses two inmates and one dog. Just one of the women is a trainer, but her roommate helps out. Three cats - Daisy, Nosey and Spice - also live in the cottage, because the dogs need to learn to live with other animals as part of their training. Although the warden and other employees cannot keep in touch with the inmates once they have been released, Siglar said they know of one former inmate who used her training to build a career once she was released.

Training the dogs offers more to the inmates than just an education for a future career. "They enjoy it a great deal and it gives them a sense of self-worth," Siglar said.

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