Officials gave the green light to a new program to make Walker County Animal Shelter dogs more adoptable and give inmates in a local state prison an incentive for good behavior.
The Walker County Board of Commissioners on Thursday unanimously approved a program to teach inmates at Rock Spring's Walker State Prison how to train shelter dogs.
"This is a program that's been very successful in many other communities with the Georgia Department of Corrections," Board Chairman Shannon Whitfield said about the animal assistance agreement with the corrections department.
Obedience training by prisoners would help make the dogs more adoptable, Whitfield said. The program would also be good for prisoners, he said, because it would give them something to do and motivate them to follow the prison's rules.
"Also, it helps the inmates because it gives them a purpose and a reason, and they have to be selected," Whitfield said. "So they have to meet a criteria to have the privilege to participate in the program."
The program won't cost the county any additional funds, Whitfield said, because the county-funded animal shelter is already providing food and supplies for the dogs.
Whitfield said the program will start small with four dogs and four inmates. If successful, he said it will scale up to seven dogs paired with seven inmates. The training program will last seven weeks, the dog living with its assigned inmate full-time during the program.
"They (the prisoner) would nurture that animal, love that animal, teach that animal obedience training," Whitfield said. He said the program would provide a steady supply of well-trained dogs for adoption.
Pit bulls would be banned from the program, he said.
Whitfield said the prisoner dog program is similar to one that trains prisoners in firefighting skills. The Walker State Prison Fire Station is one of several at Georgia Department of Corrections facilities operated by certified fire chiefs and inmate firefighters, according to the department.
Whitfield said in a follow-up phone interview that a coordinator with the Department of Corrections reached out to the board because Walker County has a minimum-security prison.
In the Atlanta area, similar programs like Operation Second Chance in Gwinnett County and Canine CellMates in Fulton County have been in operation since the early 2010s.
(READ MORE: State of Walker County Address describes growth, plans for future)
Commissioner Brian Hart asked during Thursday's meeting when the program would begin. Whitfield said the program would start by the first of the year.
Commissioner Mark Askew asked if the new program would fall under the new director's position, and Whitfield said it would. According to the county's website, Walker County is currently hiring a new employee who would oversee both the animal shelter and Walker County's Animal Control Department.
(READ MORE: Roaming horses in Ringgold spotlight challenges of animal care, changing times)
In a previous interview, Commissioner Robert Blakemore said overcrowding at the Walker County Animal Shelter is a frequent complaint from taxpayers. The shelter has committed to being a no-kill shelter, but he said that means the shelter is often full and residents aren't getting a service they are funding.
Blakemore said he hopes the new animal services director will solve the overcrowding problem at the shelter.
Efforts to reach a spokesperson for the animal shelter were unsuccessful.
Contact Andrew Wilkins at awilkins@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6659. Follow him on Twitter @tweetatwilkins.