A few months ago, Nick said he felt just like “a throw-away boy.” The tall, lanky 17-year-old has been living for nine months at the Illinois Youth Center Chicago (IYC), a detention facility for 13- to 17-year-old males, because he made a bad decision to engage in illegal activity. During his entire stay, he’s had only one person visit him. Throw-away, indeed.

But all that’s changed. Nick has been feeling pretty good lately, thanks to the great new relationships he’s nurtured and developed with Oscar, Toby, Rou, Clifford and Waldo. These guys are his buddies.

These guys are dogs.

Nick participates in one of the Best Friends-sponsored Safe Humane Chicago Lifetime Bonds programs, an initiative designed to teach young adults and teens who have been introduced to violence and illegal activities the importance of kindness and compassion toward animals. This particular Lifetime Bonds class meets once a week at IYC Chicago.

In the pilot class that includes Nick, a group of mainly self-selected young men (out of the 60+ residents) met with a group of Safe Humane Chicago (SHC) dog handlers, their dogs and other facilitators. They broke up into small groups and spent time with each of the participating dog-and-handler teams to learn communication techniques, pick up some basic training methods and to build good relationships in a positive environment. Among the SHC ambassador dogs they came to know are: Rou, an American pit bull terrier; Toby, a Labrador retriever; Birdie, a hound dog; Jackpot, a demonstration-service-dog-in-training; and The Dude and Toby, two Basset hounds.

This program was developed by Best Friends’ Project Safe Humane director Cynthia Bathurst and Best Friends training partner Janice Triptow along with some dedicated volunteers as part of Safe Humane Chicago’s programs. It supports Best Friends’ campaigns, especially Pit Bulls: Saving America’s Dog and First Home Forever Home.

And from this single initiative, many rewards have sprung: Most of the participants have discovered the joy of learning and really “getting” the lesson. Many of the boys experience a huge surge in general confidence when they see dogs respond to their commands of “sit,” “stay” and “down.” And they’re all learning that dogfighting is NOT cool.

“That’s sort of the underlying message in these classes,” says Triptow. “We don’t have dogs to fight them. There are really good things you can do with your dog, and we present them with all these opportunities to learn. This program gets right at the heart of this population. They’ve made poor choices in the past. Through these dog training sessions, we’re giving them new choices for good, lasting relationships.”

When the initial six-week session with trained dogs and their handlers was over, Nick wanted more. So did three of another dozen residents, Antoine, Taylor and John. Phase two of this program had the boys working one-on-one with dogs who had not yet experienced any training; shelter dogs from a SHC partner, Chicago Canine Rescue (CCR).

This turned out to be a win-win situation for all parties involved. The teens developed deeper connections to the dogs and honed their training techniques. The handlers and facilitators saw the immediate impact of their efforts for the boys and the dogs. The volunteers and workers at the CCR shelter enjoyed the benefits of the dogs’ visits at IYC. And, of course, the dogs win too. They were treated to some serious exercise, lessons on how to become irresistibly adoptable, and good loving from the boys.

Antoine enjoyed sitting with the dogs, quietly stroking them and talking sweetly and gently to them. That’s quite a change from the Antoine of two months prior — that Antoine didn’t want to get “too close” to a dog.

“I never thought in a million years I’d be sitting with a dog on my lap,” says Antoine. “I didn’t even like them sniffing me; I was afraid of the germs. But now, I can’t wait to see them. Being with the dogs is the best part of my week.”

Bathurst and the handlers and facilitators who came to IYC each week noticed a subtle shift in the boys as the weeks went on.

“You know, there was a time at the beginning when we’d walk into the room, say hello to the young men and they wouldn’t look at us directly,” says Bathurst. “But now, when they see us coming, they walk right up, greet us and engage in conversation. And they get right with the dogs.”

The four young men who remain at IYC, out of the group who started the pilot program, celebrated the end of their class with a Christmas presentation for all the residents. The second general training session would begin soon; and the show would give the current residents a sneak preview of what they had to look forward to. The boys worked with Clifford and Waldo, two dogs from Chicago Canine Rescue. And that was a real challenge.

See, they had been working with five Chicago Canine Rescue dogs. But they did such a good job, all five dogs were adopted. Bathurst said she “didn’t see that coming — what a wonderful surprise.”

“Because Janice was choosing to bring shelter dogs who could benefit from socialization and better manners, we thought that most would have more return visits,” explains Bathurst. “But these four young men stepped up with enthusiasm for the two new dogs, to show the IYC residents what could be accomplished with untrained dogs in a very short time, showing them respect and compassion and using the positive training techniques they had learned.”

The boys, Clifford and Waldo put on a terrific show. And by an almost unanimous show of hands in the audience, it looked like all the boys wanted to get in on the next general training session.

Earl Merritt, superintendent of IYC, has been observing the Lifetime Bonds program since the beginning. He said it has been a huge success and he hopes to expand the programs in the future.

“I’m looking forward to a long, ongoing relationship with Safe Humane Chicago and Best Friends Animal Society,” says Merritt. “The benefits of this particular program go way beyond teaching dogs; it teaches tolerance and respect. This gives our boys something to believe in. I haven’t come across a young man here yet, who hasn’t wanted to sign up for these classes.”

Nick was the last boy to leave the room. He didn’t want to move from his position, sitting on the floor with Clifford, the shelter dog lying half-way in his lap. But it was time to go back to the Chicago Canine Rescue shelter.

As Clifford was led out of the room, he looked back at Nick. Nick assured him, “Don’t worry, Clifford. You’ll get adopted. I know you will. You’re not a throw-away dog.”

To learn more about Safe Humane Chicago and its programs, please click here.

Photos by Amy Abern.