Canine Cellmates
Man’s Best Friend: Nonprofit pairs men convicted of a crime with dogs that need training, benefiting all involved. Photo credit: caninecellmates.org
Who rescues whom? It is mutual at Canine CellMates/Beyond The Bars, which pairs shelter dogs with men who have been convicted of a crime, for the betterment of both. The dogs, pulled from Fulton County Animal Services, learn obedience, and the men are responsible for training them, with the help of a certified trainer.
“Many of these men have put up walls around themselves,” says Executive Director Susan Jacobs-Meadows. “Dogs create cracks in those walls and help these men remember their humanity. There are so many lessons dogs teach, starting with the fact that they may offer the first experience of unconditional love that these men have had.”
Founded in 2013 in the Fulton County Jail, Canine CellMates began with the goal of rehabilitation and reduction of recidivism. In 2021, it expanded its vision and introduced an alternate diversion program called Beyond The Bars, in which men sentenced to incarceration can avoid jail if they agree to stay with the project for one year. The training is intensive, with the men taking classes in time management, conflict resolution and financial literacy. If they successfully complete the program, the charges against them are dropped.
The nonprofit evaluates dogs for temperament and resilience and allows dogs to stay in the program as long as it takes to get them adopted. It works with the Fulton County Sheriff’s Department, the Fulton County Jail, public defenders and the District Attorney’s office to select candidates for the program.
“These men typically are dealing with PTSD, but the skills they learn help them put their lives back together,” Jacobs-Meadows says. “And the dogs become better citizens of the homes they end up in. Everybody wins.” 
