Prisoner rehabilitation through animal-assisted activities in Argentina: the Huellas de Esperanza Prison Dog Programme.

One of the most traumatic events that a person can ever experience in their lifetime is being detained. The prison dog programmes are the most successful prison rehabilitation programmes in the United States of America and consist of detainees training service dogs for other people to assist with different types of disability. It is a typical win-win system: inmates win as they connect with their deepest feelings of affection and solidarity while acquiring a concrete skill for their future release; people with disabilities win because they receive a dog to support their day-to-day activities; the dogs win (especially adopted street dogs) because their lot in life is improved; institutions win because they are enabled to meet their objective more fully; and society wins because they gain a concrete tool to aid the social rehabilitation of detainees. This article describes the operation and achievements of Huellas de Esperanza (Traces of Hope), the Argentine prison dog programme, which has been implemented by the Federal Penitentiary Service since 2010 using State resources. A total of 85 inmates have participated in the programme, which has delivered more than a dozen assistance dogs to people with disabilities and many more dogs to elderly people to provide them with affection and companionship. The article also describes the programme methodology and the way it has decreased prison unrest and led to a low reoffending rate among programme participants.