Santa Barbara County Sheriff and Santa Maria Valley Humane Society Partner

"The animal shelter approached the Sheriff's Office in January, 2018 about the possibility of creating a partnership with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office and the Northern Branch Jail project," said Sheriff Bill Brown. "We toured the Humane Society's state-of-the-art facilities, which are less than 2 miles from the site of the new Northern Branch Jail, and met with its Executive Director, Sean Hawkins, and the Animal Training and Behavior Manager, Jody Epstein, MS, CPDT-KA to learn about the shelter's need to expand its dog and cat training programs. I believe that, not only do dogs and cats provide stress relief for inmates, but creating an avenue to learn a skill like dog training or animal care, is important." The Sheriff's Office has long considered an animal training program as one of the preferred options when the Northern Branch Jail opens.

"Most animals relinquished to shelters in Santa Barbara County have medical or behavior issues," says Sean Hawkins. "We receive dogs with no manners or skills and cats who are shy or fearful and those animals are not readily adoptable into new homes. With limited resources for staff and animal behavior specialists, the number of animals we can help and heal is limited. By partnering with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff to create the inmate dog training and cat socialization program, we will increase our capacity to save the lives of more dogs and cats who would be euthanized in other shelters."

"We know that inmate dog training programs are beneficial," continued Sheriff Brown. "We hope that our correctional programs are not only a deterrent to crime but that valuable skills are taught so that released inmates who have participated in these programs have an opportunity where they can obtain a job, such as being a dog trainer or an animal care specialist, and contribute to future positive outcomes." The program will reinforce some of the other behavioral practices to improve inmate re-entry into society and reduce recidivism. 

"With the site visit complete, we will spend the next few months working with the Sheriff's team to write the protocols and procedures for the program that we will launch here," adds Hawkins. "The North County Jail inmate training program is the only program that we are aware of where both dogs and cats will be trained and both male and female inmates participate. Our program will be unique; we hope to save the lives of an additional 150 dogs and cats per year."

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Sean Hawkins
Santa Maria Valley Humane Society
(713) 269-3574

Kelly Hoover
Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office
(805) 636-3478

SOURCE Santa Maria Valley Humane Society