Learning to Love

Over the next few weeks, the children would teach their dogs to sit and stay, walk on a lead, and to trust and love humans. But at the end of three weeks, S had taught his dog something more. He would run down the grass field, Sadie romping happily along, as he belted out for the world to hear a song he had customized especially for her: "Sadie, Baby," sung to the tune of "Angel, Baby." After gaining enough speed, he would fling his arm out to the side, and the poodle would jump up, run up the length of his extended limb to perch on his shoulder and trade kisses. He had taught Sadie to love. And she had taught him.

When it came time for Sadie to go to a new home, S wrote a letter to her new family with explicit instructions. She liked to be sung to each night (he included the words to "Sadie, Baby"). She loved being cuddled. She needed to be groomed. She liked her treats given to her just so. She was a very good dog and deserved a loving family who would dote on her like he had.

How one bad thing leads to another

S and his friends, along with the dogs, who were all placed in new homes, are one more success story for Project Second Chance.

"This program is just as important for the dogs as it is for the kids," says Tamara Ward, the center's community and social service coordinator who introduced the course. "It has to be good for the dogs, too. We want them to be adopted. That's why we limit the program to three weeks; anything longer and the dogs and the kids get too attached to each other. It's just the right amount of time to form a bond, but one that's temporary.

"The kids are given a chance to be good kids. The program teaches them empathy for another being. That's something many of them don't start out with. By the end of the training, they know they've done something good for this dog, and there's no reward for it other than that they've done a good thing."

Project Second Chance's methods are adapted from Anicare, an intervention program developed by Ken Shapiro of Psychologists for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PSYETA) and Mary Lou Randour of the Doris Day Animal Foundation.

Anicare was born out of California legislation that made animal abuse a felony. The link between animal abuse and violence toward people has already been well established. Those who engage in habitual violence, from domestic abuse to serial murder, often start off by abusing animals. Professionals working in social services and law enforcement are increasingly aware of the connection - so much so that in many states, they are instructed to check for signs of spousal or child abuse when they are called out to investigate animal cruelty.

Several organizations were involved in convincing the California judiciary to take animal abuse seriously. Once they did, it was apparent that there was a need to treat the abusers with counseling, just like domestic batterers. But there was no existing model for therapists to follow. So, says Shapiro, "We thought we'd better provide a treatment."

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