Each turn in the road reveals a surprise

Yesterday's events were incredible for this inmate and I don't think there was much I could do to alter them. First, a bit of background.

This unit has a dog program called Paws of Hope, where ten dogs are brought from a nearby shelter to stay with inmates for six months. the dogs stay in the cells and the inmates spend their time training and resocializing the dogs. At the end of the six month, the dogs are graduated and have, in the past, had an adopted home to go to, usually to a family of one of the inmates in the program.

Paws of Hope is an awesome method for taking the dogs and giving them a new life while also giving the inmates responsibility for another life and training the dogs, often brightening the inmate's days when he comes home to a canine friend after a day at work.

The dog graduation took place yesterday, attended by the inmates, their respective dogs, and the inmates' families. I was waiting outside the library for my boss to show up (she didn't - she was sick) when an officer asked me to set up the sound equipment for the ceremony. After setting it up, I told them to call me out when they needed to break it down or call me earlier if they needed any help.

Around 3:00 I was called down to turn the volume down. Really? Just turn the knob! Once I turned it down, they started a video montage set to music showcasing each one of the dogs for five minutes, followed by interviews with the inmates. To save you the trouble, I'll do the math: one hour total was spent watching and seemingly endless photos of the same dogs. Can you say embellishment?

The good stuff came after the ceremony. The culinary arts clerks made two cakes for all involved, so I got to eat some yummy food after I put away the sound equipment. After the guests left, I learned that the guys were going to watch a new movie on a small TV, so I offered to put the projector and speakers together for them to watch the movie - a much better use than watching doggie portraits! I didn't expect to stay, but the officer in charge told me to stick around. In addition to a newly released DVD, we got body-shaking sound, a six-foot screen, and pizza made by the culinary arts guys.

As I watched the movie, I asked myself if I was in prison. The crazy thing is that I felt the answer was "no".