Cook County Jail inmates training therapy dogs in Tails of Redemption program

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Behind the chain-link fence and barbed wire, detainees at the Cook County Jail are busy training man's best friend.

"It's a process. It takes time. But little by little, they start getting the hang of it," inmate David Arratia said.

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Arratia is in custody, facing drug charges. But, instead of wasting time waiting for the legal process to play out, he's being productive.

The dogs come from local shelters. Most are given standard obedience training, making them better candidates for adoption. But some become therapy dogs, including Arratia's partner, Buddy, a 1-and-a-half-year-old lab retriever mix.

"I grew up poor. So, we could barely feed ourselves, let alone have a dog. So, that was really out of the question. But now that I'm here, I finally learned what it's like to take care of a dog, to look after him, to really know how to be responsible for him," Arratia said.

Through Sheriff Tom Dart's Tails of Redemption program, both dogs and detainees are learning to leave their pasts behind, focusing instead on the potential of their futures.

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"You can see the transformation. You can see what it does to people. And so for us to be able to be sort of, feeding the system with therapy dogs is great," Dart said.

Nine therapy dogs have already come through the sheriff's program, with six more currently in training. Depending on the individual dog, they can be fully trained in two and a half to three months. And at this point, there's now a waiting list for law enforcement agencies hoping to land one of the well-trained pups.

"We're very confident what we're putting out when it's time to go out. So, when we turn it over to an agency that would have otherwise paid $15,000, $20,000 for a dog, they're getting it for free," said Jerry Roman, director of the K-9 Unit and Tails of Redemption.

And while the dogs and the program have minimal costs, the value to the agencies, community, the animals and the people in custody is extraordinary.

"Some people, all they know is like what they grew up around. And being here, it provides an environment and a space to try new things, to do things that you never thought you were capable of," Arratia said.