– Photo by John Meiu
A ceremony was held recently in Mt. Clemens for juvenile court youth graduating from the Teacher’s Pet program. Pictured at the event at Washington Elementary School are Nicole Faulds, Macomb County Circuit Court juvenile division administrator, and David Joseph, circuit court juvenile division program director. The program, which pairs at-risk youth with hard-to-adopt shelter dogs, operates as part of a partnership between circuit court and the county animal shelter.
By Melanie Deeds
Legal News
It was obvious to all that Sean was pleased with the behavior of Corey, the brindle pitbull mix puppy he’d been working with for many weeks.
The occasion was the Teacher’s Pet graduation ceremony at Washington Elementary School in Mt. Clemens and the Sean-Corey team was shining.
Sean was selected to take part in the program in which court-involved youth are partnered with hard-to-adopt dogs from the Macomb County Animal Control Shelter.
The youth, mostly teens but sometimes younger, visit the school twice a week for 10 weeks as part of the intervention program that focuses on reward-based training and behavior modification in an attempt to make the dogs more adoptable.
“Shelter life is stressful on dogs,” said Jeff Randazzo, chief animal control officer and director of Macomb County Animal Control. “We notice a big difference in the demeanor of the dogs in the program. They sleep better, they bark less and are less anxious while they are in the program, which increases their chances of being adopted.”
The youth greatly benefit as well.
Along with experiencing empathy, gaining patience and improving coping skills, court officials say the kids also learn about responsible pet ownership and humane treatment of animals.
Macomb County Circuit Court Chief Judge James Biernat Jr., in a news release announcing the ceremony, said the partnership between the court and animal shelter through the Teacher’s Pet program “provides a great opportunity for court involved youth to give back to their community.”
Nicole Faulds, Macomb County Circuit Court juvenile division administrator, was among those on hand for the graduation ceremony.
She said court officials are always looking for creative, innovative ways to “tailor our interventions to meet a kid’s need.”
“This program works very well for some kids,” she said.
Faulds said the juvenile probation staff along with court therapists identify potential youth to participate in the non-profit Teacher’s Pet: Dogs and Kids Learning Together program.
“Typically we are looking at youth who are in our more intensive, treatment-based community programs,” she said. “Some may have mental health issues and perhaps have a hard time opening up in a traditional talk therapy environment.”
Faulds said charges against the kids “range anywhere from incorrigibility to domestic violence.”
“As long as a youth is safe in the community and not a risk to harm an animal, they are eligible for the program.”
Court workers involved with troubled youth are always looking for new ways to get through to them and have a positive effect, she said.
“We try to be creative and tailor our interventions to meet a kid’s need,” Faulds said.
During the ceremony in the school auditorium, each one of the youth involved in the program demonstrated a few commands their dog would follow and spoke briefly about their experiences. The audience consisted primarily of court workers and parents but did include a couple adopting one of the dogs.
“Dogs are amazing,” Sean said as he enticed Corey with training treats to follow his various orders.
Lisa Rabine, a program facilitator with Teacher’s Pet, asked Sean to share what he had learned from the 10-week experience.
“Patience,” he said. “Corey used to jump on everyone but doesn’t anymore. But it took a lot of time, and patience.”
Another student trainer, Josh, said working with his dog “taught me to think about a lot of things.”
The program, Rabine said, teaches the youth responsibility and accountability. In the beginning, some of the kids are a bit reticent and disinterested but “it’s amazing how it takes off and they really become involved,” she said.
After a few weeks, the animals “get excited to see their student trainers and get use to the routine, the positive reinforcement,” she said. “So do the kids. In the end, it’s amazing how much they mirror each other.”
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