A14 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015
FROM PAGE A1
TRAINING:
Millard said that recently
he was on the phone with his
cousin, who lives in Herm-
continued from page A1
iston, and his dog, Duke, a
this (dog training), I saw it has brown lab and Chesapeake
an opportunity to help me in Bay-mix, got into the game
my evolution.”
cabinet near the phone and
Beginning this month, grabbed a box of chess pieces.
Millard and 17 other inmates Millard said he commanded
were grouped in sets of three, the dog to put the box down,
where one person was desig- which Duke did, spilling the
nated the primary dog han- SLHFHVDOORYHUWKHÀRRU
dler, one as the secondary
“He is like having an un-
handler and the third as a dog ruly 8-year-old,” Millard said.
sitter.
“It’s like three kids rolled into
Each day, the primary one.”
handlers go to the kennels
Millard and the other in-
constructed at TRCI at 8 a.m. mates, however, said that
to pick up their animals, and by working with the dogs,
then spend the rest of the day they are learning more about
either in training or classes themselves. For one, Millard
with dog trainer Tracy Hill VDLG KH ¿QGV KLPVHOI JHWWLQJ
from 4 Paws DogWorks in emotional when Duke does
Tri-Cities. The dogs are with something right or particular-
their handlers essentially ly cute.
from sun up, to sun down.
“It’s weird, the older I get,
Through their training, in- , ¿QG P\VHOI JHWWLQJ PRUH
mates teach their dogs basic emotional,” he said.
commands, such as sit, stay,
In other instances, Millard
lay down and shake. The said the dog has required him
dogs are also taught basic to interact with other inmates
manners — not to jump up on more, something that he shied
people, how to approach peo- away from in the past. He
ple they don’t know and other said he has also learned that
appropriate interactions with he has room to grow with his
the general public, as well as patience limits.
socialization with other ani-
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mals and humans.
lot of patience,” he said.
As his dog’s primary
Millard said he sees a lot
handler, Millard said, in the of himself in his dog, which,
morning, he collects his dog in turn, helps remind him of
while the secondary handler the path he is taking to self
cleans the kennel and gets recovery.
it food and water. He then
“I was an unruly child and
spends the day working with kind of misunderstood, just
the animal and observes its like he is,” he said. “Work-
basic behavior. Sometimes, ing with him, I’ve actually
WKDWWDVNLVPRUHGLI¿FXOWWKDQ learned a lot more about my-
anticipated.
self than the dog.”
For other inmates, such as
Phil Florek, who has always
owned a dog outside of pris-
on, training dogs with differ-
ent temperaments has been
extra rewarding. Florek said
his dog, Zoe, a border col-
lie-Australian shepherd mix,
came to him and his fellow
handlers with anxiety issues
after she had been seized
during a methamphetamine
raid.
“She didn’t want to go
near people, but me and the
other handlers have worked
hard with her, and we’ve got-
ten her to the point where she
likes people,” he said. “I’ve
never worked with a dog like
her before.”
Florek said the training
program has become his fa-
vorite activity in prison.
“For myself, I’ve person-
ally been in more of an upbeat
CRIMES:
out for each other and owning
that property, and that leads a
little bit closer to crime free.”
Using signs to mark main
business entrances and ad-
dress numbers on front and
back entrances can help guide
people to where they should
go, and Sandoval recom-
mended peep holes in rear
doors.
She said people can con-
trol access to their properties
by using natural features,
such as shrubs, fences, gates
and doors. Placing cashiers
near the front door helps
control business access, she
said, and also provides sur-
veillance.
Maintenance is also an-
other
often-overlooked
crime-prevention technique,
Sandoval said.
continued from page A1
“You can apply it to res-
idential areas. You can also
apply it to businesses,” she
said. “... CPTED can cover
anything. What’s awesome
about CPTED is it can be
anywhere from the ground
up, working with architects
and engineers, which is what
some of my co-facilitators do,
or it can be at an established
complex, where somebody is
doing updates.”
Increasing the visibility of
the property through lighting
and window placement and
open stairwells makes natu-
ral surveillance easier and the
site less inviting for criminals,
who are unable to hide, San-
doval said.
“We want to make that bad
guy more visible,” she said.
“... We just want to make that
offender’s behavior more eas-
ily noticeable.”
Having shelves, window
advertisements or landscap-
ing that prevent visibility
reduce natural surveillance,
she said. Shrubs should be no
taller than three feet, she said,
and tree branches should be
no lower than seven feet to
provide visibility.
Sandoval said creating
clear boundaries between
adjacent properties and pub-
lic areas through territorial
reinforcement helps create a
sense of ownership. She said
landscaping and other fea-
tures separating sidewalks
from properties can help deter
people from entering certain
areas. In parks, she said, when
people know the boundaries
and feel ownership for the
area, they are more likely to
watch for undesired behavior.
“Everything is here to put
things at a higher risk for
those bad guys,” she said.
“If you can attach the peo-
ple who use or live on that
property and have a sense of
ownership, you’ll see a higher
incidence of people watching
mood,” he said. “Learning all
these different responsibili-
ties, it has been great. It’s dif-
ferent than being told what to
do all the time. I’ve enjoyed
it.”
In the month that inmate
Robert Peck has been work-
ing with his dog, Trixie, he
has taught her how to follow
commands using only hand
signals. The process, he said,
actually only took three days.
He said he has been working
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qualities.
“She’s so smart,” he said.
“This has been such a great
experience.”
Inmate Jack Poole is train-
ing the smallest of the dogs
selected for the program, a
miniature pincher named
Coco. Because he is a differ-
ent size, Poole said the dog
has been a little bit more dif-
MAEGAN MURRAY PHOTO
Two Rivers Correctional Institution inmate Peter Millard feeds
a treat to Duke, the dog he is training, a chocolate lab and
Chesapeake Bay-mix, Tuesday morning in the visiting room of
the institution.
When they say
“I know it’s really self-ex-
planatory, but it’s amazing
how people don’t under-
stand the importance of it,”
she said. “When there’s a
clean property, and it looks
like somebody cares for it
and takes care of it, more
people will start taking care
of that and help protect it,
too. The other thing you’re
doing is it’s going to make
the bad guys stand out too,
because, if they’re throwing
litter or if they’re vandal-
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now knows to sit but is still
learning other commands,
such as how to stay.
“It’s pretty bullheaded,” he
said.
The experience, however,
has changed his outlook on
owning smaller dogs.
“I grew up with big dogs,”
he said. “Now, I love small
dogs.”
Inmate Cory Lewis gave
up his higher-paying job
working in the laundry de-
partment to work with the
dogs. He said he does not
regret taking a pay cut to par-
ticipate.
Before, Lewis said he
made about $155 a month
in the laundry department,
but now makes $65 to $70.
“I don’t miss it,” he said.
“The most stressful day
here is better than the best
day there.”
Lewis said the opportu-
nity to interact with an an-
imal that provides uncon-
ditional love has been an
experience beyond what he
can describe. He said, even
though he is the dog’s pri-
mary handler, he has seen
changes in his fellow in-
mates who aren’t interact-
ing with a dog all day.
“There are walls up with
everybody in here, but there
are no walls for dogs,” he
said.
At the end of the six-
week training period, the
inmates will place their
dogs up for adoption. For
that process, Dawn Wagner,
east side business services
manager at TRCI, said
TRCI will host a meet-and-
greet event from 1:30 p.m.
to 3:30 p.m. May 16, where
the public can meet the
dogs, enjoy refreshments
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work if they are interested
in adopting.
Then, the institution will
host an adoption event from
1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. May
23. During that event, peo-
ple interested in adopting
a dog can adopt a dog for
$150. If more than one per-
son is interested in adopting
a particular dog, names will
be put into a hat, and one
name will be selected. Six
dogs from this training ses-
sion will be up for adoption.
“We are excited,” Wag-
ner said. “Then, as soon as
we get those adopted out,
we’re getting the next six
dogs to be trained.”
Peck said his mother will
attend the event in hopes of
adopting his dog for him
for when he gets out of
TRCI in two years. He said
he was sent to TRCI for
burglary but has been try-
ing to better himself in pris-
on. He said he has prayed
many times to God to help
him get through his time
without any major issues.
Then, last month, he was
selected for the dog-train-
ing program, which he said
had to have been a decision
from his Creator.
“If things go right, she’ll
come in and adopt her,” he
said of his mother. “I’ve
built such a connection to
her. Hopefully everything
works out.”
izing, and more people are
surveilling that, they’re go-
ing to notice.”
Sandoval said FBI sta-
tistics show that doors were
unlocked in 30 percent of
house burglaries, and 22
percent occurred through a
rear door. She said ensuring
doors are locked deters op-
portunistic criminals.
“In our area, probably
a majority of the criminals
that are committing either
thefts, car break-ins, stolen
cars, they’re mostly oppor-
tunists,” she said. “... We
have a high percentage of
stolen vehicles, I think it
was over 40 percent, (when)
those vehicles were either
unlocked or unlocked and
had keys in them, and there
were a few cases when they
were running.”
Sandoval said people
should focus on preventing
crimes and can contact her
about property assessments
at 541-667-5112.
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