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Jail inmates lend a hand at Pasco County animal shelter (w/video)

 
Pasco County Jail inmates Justin Delehanty, left, and Randy Niven clean kennels Tuesday at Pasco County Animal Services.
Pasco County Jail inmates Justin Delehanty, left, and Randy Niven clean kennels Tuesday at Pasco County Animal Services.
Published Oct. 18, 2014

LAND O'LAKES

The inmates who clean the cages at the animal shelter wear black galoshes, for obvious reasons. They don't work up front, in the cozy reception area. They show up early, herded by a man with a gun, and get to work behind a door that reads "Don't enter."

They show up in striped cotton jailhouse uniforms. Many have tattoos. Mostly they are nonviolent offenders and low-level felons.

They walk into the kennel area of the shelter, where it's so loud a person's ears will still buzz long after leaving. It smells so strongly of animal waste that the shock is something like sticking your head in ice-cold water. So, they get to work — with brooms and hoses and bleach and leashes.

Recently, Pasco County Animal Services, in an agreement with the Sheriff's Office, allowed inmates who qualify to work at the shelter, cleaning cages and interacting with the animals. The endeavor, shelter manager Mike Shumate said, will free up shelter employees to work later in the day, and ultimately help more animals get adopted.

"It's been pretty smooth so far," Shumate said. "We provide the vehicle, they provide the deputy and the inmates."

The prisoners get one day commuted of their sentence for every 40 hours of work.

"Inmates assigned to work crews gain a sense of responsibility," said sheriff's Capt. Stacey Jenkins. "(They) are required to report to their assignments as if the assignment is their job."

Justin Wommack, 28, is in jail because he violated his probation. He's charged with possession of marijuana. This is not his first time in jail, as his arrest record dates to 2002, when he was also arrested on marijuana charges.

Working with the dogs, he said, has given him a new perspective.

"I've been locked up and running around and up to no good," he said. "I want a change in my life."

These animals, he said, help him to show a different side of himself — a better side. One he can be proud of.

He's one of about five men who come to clean. The work is methodical but messy — and repetitive.

When the inmates walk into the rows of blindingly loud barking, they remove the metal food bowls first. The dogs are taken outside to bigger cages. Then a hose sprays everything down, and the waste rolls into grates in front of the cages. The workers sweep and bleach and pull up the grates and clean those too. The black boots help.

In between the cleaning, they get to walk the dogs. They nuzzle and pet them, and there are lots of smiles all around.

Shumate hopes the new arrangement will help move dogs out the door.

"We're still overcrowded," he said. "They come in faster than they go out."

It costs $70 to adopt a dog and $40 to adopt a cat, Shumate said, but the agency runs specials every month. The price includes all of the fees and inoculations as well as spay or neuter procedures.

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Some of the dogs are not family ready. They are rough and messy, jumpy and erratic. The inmates help to socialize them. Wommack can relate to these animals, he said. He knows what that feels like to be on the outside of things, to be in a cage.

"A lot of these dogs," he said, "just need someone to love them."