By Rebecca Simmons

Frederick Varnado loves being around animals. The soft-spoken young man especially likes the one-on-one time he gets with the pooches he cares for. "Some of the dogs," he said recently, "have been treated badly in the past, and I like being able to build trust with them."

Varnado would seem a perfect candidate for a shelter job. He has a good attitude, he works hard, and he enjoys his charges. But because Varnado is an inmate at Dixon Correctional Facility (DCI) in Jackson, Louisiana, he'll have to wait a few years before applying at any shelter. Instead, though, he can satisfy his humane impulses—not to mention receive hands-on training in animal care—through a unique joint project between The HSUS and DCI.

Since September 22, approximately 160 animals rescued from the New Orleans area have been housed in a converted dairy barn on DCI property. The animals—dogs, geese, chickens, and ducks—are cared for by inmates under the supervision of HSUS volunteers, prison staff, and Dr. Eric Davis, veterinary director of Rural Area Veterinary Services for The HSUS.

The animals, rescued in the days and weeks following Hurricane Katrina, were first brought to the temporary shelter at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales, Louisiana, about 60 miles north of the Big Easy. Their stay at Lamar-Dixon was designed to be brief. In order to create space for the hundreds of animals who were admitted daily to the facility, healthy animals had to be transported off-site every day and housed with suitable shelters and other foster partners until the dogs and cats could be reunited with their guardians. The issue, of course, was finding those suitable shelters, particularly in a state whose animal facilities were severely impacted by storms.

Enter Amanda Smith. Smith, the re-entry coordinator at DCI, read a newspaper article about Lamar-Dixon's sheltering needs and asked warden Jimmy LeBlanc if DCI could get involved by fostering displaced animals on prison property, which includes 2,500 acres of land and several barns.

"I thought it was a great idea," said LeBlanc on a recent day at DCI. "I have a huge soft spot for animals. But we couldn't have done this without HSUS's help. No state funds were used for this project. We provide the building and the inmate labor, but HSUS is funding everything else. It's been a great partnership."

LeBlanc clearly convinced The HSUS that it would be a good idea, too. And before long, the animals were on their way to Jackson, approximately 120 miles northwest of New Orleans.

Win-Win Situation

"Not only does this help the animals by providing what our vets say is an exceptional new home, but it is also the start of a new program at Dixon where trustee prisoners, under HSUS supervision, will care for the animals on a daily basis," said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The HSUS. "Everyone benefits from this creative solution."

LeBlanc agreed. "It's a win-win situation. Many of our inmates are from the areas affected by the hurricane," he said. "They can't help with the disaster relief efforts, but this way they give back to the area by helping the animals."

What's more, the warden said, the program helps inmates by giving them a chance to work with animals and gain valuable experience. "These volunteer inmates are showing us that they want to change, and we are helping them by providing opportunity to make that change," said LeBlanc.

The inmates aren't the only ones who benefit. The project is a boon for the animals, who thrive on the individualized attention and the quieter conditions, which are less stressful than a large, temporary shelter like Lamar-Dixon. "The more animals we can transfer out of Lamar-Dixon, the better it is for them," said Davis. "The animals are more comfortable here, and the inmates are really enjoying their jobs. I'm really proud of the way things are going."

It's also a safe environment for both the inmates and the animals. "We expect discipline here at DCI," LeBlanc said. "As a result, our prison is actually safer than many communities in Louisiana. This is a very secure and sound environment."

The 13 inmates selected to work with the animals were carefully screened by prison staff, and they received on-the-job training from HSUS staff and volunteers. "The inmates that are here are members of our trustee program who volunteered to do this job," LeBlanc said.

A trustee, by definition, is an inmate that the prison staff trusts to work outside the facility with minimum security and supervision. They must be nonviolent offenders with less than three years left on their sentence. "The type of inmates that we hand-pick to be part of the trustee program are ones that we think will be productive citizens when they're released," said LeBlanc.

So far, the inmates have impressed. "The dogs here are getting a lot of attention," said volunteer Rachel Lucas, a veterinary technician from Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota. "The inmates really care about the animals, and seem to enjoy working with them. They've even given some of the dogs names."

The animals will remain in DCI's care until each has found his or her happy ending. Animals whose owners have not come forward by the state-mandated deadline (currently October 15, but that could be pushed back further) will be placed up for adoption. "We are so appreciative that DCI is going to house these evacuated animals until they can be properly reunited with their families or placed in foster homes until they can be adopted," said Pacelle.

The reunions are already in full-swing. "Just yesterday we had four dogs leave with their families," Davis said one day last week.

For inmates, sending the animals home with their guardian—or a new family—will be bittersweet. But until that time comes, the inmates will be enjoying the company of their newfound friends.

"The inmates know that the animals look at them just as another human being and not an inmate," said LeBlanc. "They pick up on the unconditional love that they receive from the animals. It's really been a good thing."

Rebecca Simmons is the Outreach Communications Coordinator for the Companion Animals section of The HSUS.