Prison Pups

Filmmaker Alice Dungan Bouvrie's Prison Pups offers a profile of four devoted inmates at Concord Farm (a minimum-security prison in Massachusetts) who've enrolled in an innovative program: training service dogs for the disabled (including those who are blind or hearing-impaired). Not surprisingly, the prisoners form a close bond with their newly-appointed pets, but they also discover a greater sense of confidence, self-esteem, and compassion, as the dogs-in-training appeal to what Lincoln famously referred to as the men's "better angels." Of course, these man/dog relationships are by definition temporary, and when the time comes for the fully-trained dogs to be handed over to their adoptive owners, the separation process is almost heartbreakingly intense. Bouvrie presents this emotional story with care and compassion, and as the training begins again with prisoners attached to a new batch of pups, we witness the renewal of a cycle that offers mutual benefit to both lonely inmates and society at large. A heartwarming testament to the effectiveness of prison pup programs (which have now been implemented across the country), this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (J. Shannon)