Inmate Testimonials
JOEY
Hi I am Joey. I have been in prison since I was sixteen years old, over 30 years. Like most of us, I came from a broken home. A life of lost loves, broken promises, and abandonment. "Raised" in prison since the nineties. I have seen a lot. Things a normal human, thankfully never will. Things only to be found in a place full of the unwanted, damage, despised and thought [of], beyond redemption. As a human, a lot of our struggles, even horrors are somewhat expected, or manageable, but for similar pains and experiences to be inflicted upon an innocent animal, I believe, shocks us to our soul, enrages us. We care more [for them] then for our own selves. Well PROOF we are not incorrigible, or beyond repair. Of course, it would be a "dog" That would come along, so impossibly to show us how to be better humans. A creature, even more undeserving of being abused, abandoned, disregarded, broken, to repair us and give us things, lessons we never learned in our dysfunctional lives’ "responsibility". Shaping a life in something amazing. Convincing these hopeless, little, beings to trust, believe and love again when we ourselves have learned not to. It's more. This program I landed in, [it's more] than just training an animal the tricks. I think anyone could do that with a pocketful of biscuits. It's repairing the shattered souls of the world's castaways. It's showing the world we can all change, grow, improve and be beautiful. It's showing that we are all not what we've done, but what we do with tomorrow. I thought April’s program was "kookie" at first with all the hippie, energy, yoga what not, But I do appreciate there is an energy in the universe that we can all be connected to. I think the walls that we build to protect ourselves are a larger harm than the pains we built them over. April easily showed us how to train a dog. The information she provides is on point, professional, and excellent. The more difficult aspect of her program was getting hardened criminals to face their traumas. Connect with an innocent, broken animal, and use that pain, stress, etc. to heal both. No one wants relive beatings, robbery, abandonment, murder, rape, loss of loved ones, broken promises by the most trusted, but you overcome by facing your issues. Not burying them. So, I understand what April and the program is trying to do and did with many of us. I am perfect so didn't need any help. I saw results in the humans and the animals. And I am a better man for those animals. Being in my life and the humans, especially a woman who lost her son to crime and is willing to go into a place full of the people who may have taken her child and show them forgiveness, love and want to see them better beings I am changed, again, by this experience. These dogs are all amazing in their own ways. None of them are broken beyond repair and I believe these men will go home more prepared for the world by finally owning up to being responsible, rather than careless, with another life. I am eternally grateful for the experience and heartened. Knowing the future will see more of this. Distinti Saluti Joey
CHRIS
This is a good program. It helps us inmates and the dogs to grow. I’m so glad that they picked me to participate in the program. I really enjoyed teaching the dogs to sit, stay, and wait. You just have to be patient. It’s not so lonely if you have a dog with you in your own room. It makes the time go by fast. It’s fun because you get to know all the dogs. We get a chance to spend time with each one so we have alone time with the dogs, so we get to each one on a personal level. I wish we could spend a little more time with them outside, so I cherish the time we do spend with them. Each dog is different. They all have their own personalities, so it’s fun to see how they interact with us. We have to talk to them and calm them down and reassure them that everything is okay and that they are in a safe place so they can open up to us a little more cause some of them are really shy and scared. So, we have to work on them a little more than others. It is a good program. It helps to open some of us up to change and make us feel better. Well, I just want to say thank you, guys, for this program. It has helped me open up and feel more comfortable. Chris
JON
Hi, My name is Jon, and I’m part of April’s K911 Academy Peeps2Pup Program at the New Mexico Correctional Facility. I think this is a great program. It helps inmates learn how to train dogs how to be confident and heal their inner traumas as well as our selves. At first, when I found out how we were going to help heal the dog’s trauma. I thought it was kinda strange and didn’t think it would work using our energies to train dogs. Well, I was sure wrong. A few of the dogs that we got from the shelter were completely scared of people and had no confidence in being social at all. Miss April showed us how to recognize what to look for in a dog to see what mood they are in by paying attention to their body movement to know if they are in fight or flight mode by rating how nervous or excited [sic], they are between 1-10, and how to get their numbers to go down by using our energies. The methods Miss April uses to change the dogs’ behavior give them confidence to whatever life throws at them, as well as us inmates. Being in this program, I realized us, as humans and them as animals, all go through similar things that make us have traumas. So, I think it is great that we have this opportunity to help and learn how to figure out how to solve the things we all gone through. I think this program is Amazing and would suggest to anybody to get into energy medicine because you can get a lot accomplished. Since the first time we started I’ve seen a lot of progress in the dogs. I just want to thank Miss Ebeth and Diana from Deming Animal Guardians for making this program happen and to Miss April for all the tools she taught us to be able to change these animals for the better so they all can get adopted to loving homes. Jon
***The locations and names have been altered for the protection of the inmates' privacy.