The next time I went away, I had a friend stay with Holly and was told on my return that he was not interested in taking care of her EVER again. She chewed a $1500 couch as well as a hat and a few pillows, all out of boredom. It went as badly or worse with my other dog, Miko, who is fearful of people, when he managed to escape his dog stay while I was away in Mexico and was missing for over 16 hours. He got hit by a car and ran scared all night. He was recovered about 20km from where he escaped his foster parents yard. Hence my need to find a place where the dogs would be well cared for and kept from harming themselves or anyone else. I had accepted that perhaps, I would never be able to travel, when I discovered the LAPS program at the Fraser Valley Institution.
The FVI is a correctional facility for women under the jurisdiction of the Correctional Service of Canada. On the grounds they have an excellent Dog Training and Boarding Centre for the Patti Dale Animal Shelter. Basically, the Langley Animal Protection Society works in partnership with the Correctional Services of Canada to save animals and provide job skills and experience in animal handling for female offenders, under the leadership of professional dog trainers. Kennel employees train, walk and groom the dogs. The women interested in the program go through an application process and must be approved to work in the kennel. Although the kennel area is off limits to the general population of FVI, the other women can interact with the dogs when theyre out being walked on the grounds or if a dog is living in an inmates house. The dogs get an average of eight outings a day and the women get the opportunity to interact with "womans best friend". In the facility, they have both full- and part- time staff, plus a couple of volunteers who work a few hours a week. All kennel workers, whether full-time, part-time or volunteer, learn safe handling practices, how to administer medications, animal first aid and the basics of animal care. The animals welfare is always the priority and they foster a true sense of professionalism and responsibility. The designated staff create an atmosphere similar to what you would find in a work place out in the community.
The FVI kennel program is a job training program, although, for many of the women, just being around the dogs is therapeutic. The individuals involved in the program learn skills that they can use when they are back in the community. In this full-service boarding and kennel facility, everything is done by inmates, with the exception of collecting payment and clients personal information. They offer boarding, daycare, grooming and training. All of the women participating in the program must take one or more of the certificate programs offered. When they have employees who are interested in developing their training skills, they bring shelter dogs from LAPS out to the kennel. These dogs are the responsibility of the woman to whom they are assigned. The animal will live in inmates house with her and she will keep a log of all the training she does with him. She will receive training instruction and also work with the dog on her own time. When the time comes for the pooch to go up for adoption, people will come to FVI to see the dog. The employee will get to meet the potential adopters and demo her dogs training. This is the way the women in the program gain the experience needed to train clients dogs.
The training programs available are:
Kennel attendant - level one
Kennel attendant - level two
Groomers assistant
Professional dog trainer
The kennel program provides a safe place for the women to work and gives them practical and realistic knowledge about working in a busy dog kennel. It is a physically and mentally challenging job and working with the dogs is very rewarding.The canine program helps the women develop a good work ethic, work cooperatively as a team and learn to take responsibility for their actions. They develop their self-worth and learn valuable skills that can help them wherever their lives may take them. It is a wonderful way for women to better themselves; however, the thing I like the most about this kenneling and boarding program is that my dogs are happy and healthy when they return from it. They receive 6-8 outings a day on the 10 acre property, where they are walked, set free to romp and play in gated areas, or hang out with the staff and experience the country smells. I just got back from a five day camping trip. I couldnt take my dogs because they are not reliable off leash and have too strong a prey drive to be in the wilderness. I left them with the ladies at FVI and was confident that not only would they be well cared for, but also that they would be loved, exercised and kept safe. For my fearful dog Miko, I knew that being around women only would assure he was not under stress because he is terrified of men. Another bonus is that it is affordable! One dog is boarded at just $23 per day and the two together, only $41 per day. I brought their food and vitamins and the kennel staff was more than willing to cater to their special needs. They came home well exercised and looking great! The best part is, I can now travel or go away from time to time and relax knowing that the dogs are secure.
To contact FVI: www.lapsbc.ca/fvi or call #604-851-6076
(Special thanks to Becky Hemphill , who runs the program and provided me with much of the information listed in this entry.)
