WINDHAM — There’s a lot of baby talk going on at the Maine Correctional Center. A puppy fostering program, in which inmates live with the animals as they socialize and train them, was restarted in November with the help of the Animal Welfare Society in Kennebunk.

Participants say “Paws in Stripes” is a win-win, both for the inmates who participate and the shelter that seeks to place the dogs in permanent homes.

The program had been in place for about seven years before the previous shelter decided it could no longer handle administering it, said Penny Bailey, unit manager for the men’s side of the Windham prison. Inmates asked to have it back, so staff made new arrangements, this time with AWS.

“It’s a huge benefit within our population,” said Bailey. During those few months without any puppies in the prison, “you could see the attitude change,” she said.

Inmates at MCC, who have a range of sentences, from nine months to life, are all eligible to apply for the dog program, Bailey said. The selection process includes an interview and those who are chosen must sign a contract to participate for six months to a year. Only inmates who have no animal abuse record, are following their rehabilitation plan, and do not have disciplinary issues are chosen to work with the puppies, said Bailey, and once they’re in they can continue for as long as they would like.

“It does a lot for me, emotionally and psychologically,” said inmate Rob Steiner, who has been participating for about a year and a half. “I know I can give these dogs a better chance, put something back into the community and make a difference.”

Each dog is sent back to the shelter with the trainer’s journal of its progress. Steiner keeps an album of photos of him with the dogs he has fostered, and even has a thank-you letter from the family that adopted one of them.

“It gives the dogs a chance at a permanent life, a home,” he said.

Right now, Steiner is the primary handler for Quinn, a lab/border collie mix that suffers from a neurological disorder, cerebellar hypoplasia. When Quinn arrived, he could barely stand up on his own, they said, but now he prances and can walk up stairs.

Inmate John Veilleux, who has helped care for Quinn, said the Paws in Stripes program offers companionship, and “it’s great to play and have fun with the animals.”

“This is best for the dogs,” said inmate Dale Gardner. “Instead of being euthanized, they’ll get a nice home now.”

Gardner is a helper, the first tier of the program, stepping in to care for any of the dogs when the primary handler is at class or otherwise unavailable. He’ll later move up to become an assistant, and eventually become a primary trainer and caregiver for a dog ”“ meaning the animal will sleep in a crate in his cell.

On the women’s side of the prison, where many of the inmates are mothers who are separated from their children, staff say the puppies have filled a need to nurture.

Mothering “is such a big part of them,” said Amanda Woolford, manager of the women’s side. “To give that back has gone so far. Now they have a feeling of self-worth again.”

 “I love it,” said inmate Corinne Ross. “It takes my mind off other things, it’s very therapeutic. It’s just like taking care of a baby.”

The puppies ”“ a group of 11 split between the women’s and men’s sides ”“ stay for about six weeks before they’re sent back to the Kennebunk shelter for adoption. During their stay, the puppies are with their inmate team at all times and have a weekly obedience training with AWS volunteers Kim Vansickle and Karen Robinson.

The two said they were intimidated at first, having had no experience working with inmates, but have found it to be a “great experience.”

“People who have adopted these dogs are very excited about it and happy with the results,” said Vansickle.

Living in a prison exposes the dogs to men in uniform, loud noises and lots of people ”“ and they even meet with the children who visit on the weekends ”“ making them more adoption-ready than many other dogs.

The steady supply of puppies, due to overpopulation in the South and Midwest, is the only unfortunate part of the program ”“ a problem that AWS Director of Development Kerrie LeClair said she doesn’t see going away anytime soon. The dogs are driven up to Maine regularly from states that do not have aggressive spay/neuter programs, she said, and the shelter is getting twice daily requests to take more. On Tuesday, 22 puppies will be shipped up from Georgia and about half of those will become the next class at MCC.

The shelter provides for all of the dogs’ needs through donations to the program, said LeClair, and its only cost is the staff travel time and the standard intake costs of vaccines and sterilization.

The hard part, of course, comes when it’s time for the dogs to go.

“We cried a lot last time,” said handler Tiffeny Hamlyn, “and we need to be more reserved this time because it’s hard for the dogs.”

Inmate Mark Bridge concurred, “It’s really hard, but you know there’ll be another dog coming soon and you realize they’re going to a good home.”

The program has been so successful ”“ with potential adopters often camping out in the shelter parking lot the night before the MCC dogs are available ”“ that AWS is considering adding a kitten program in the spring, said LeClair.

To donate to the “Paws in Stripes” program, visit Animalwelfaresociety.org.

— Kristen Schulze Muszynski can be contacted at 282-1535 Ext. 322 or kristenm@journaltribune.com.