http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1322393,00.html
Gerard Seenan
"For a project designed to fight recidivism among some of the worst young offenders in the United States, it has a somewhat unexpected title. Project Pooch is not the sort of name destined to make concerned citizens sleep easier in their beds at night.
Moreover, the theory behind Positive Opportunities, Obvious Change with Hounds does not, on the surface at least, inspire utmost confidence.
Give juvenile murderers, rapists and armed robbers a badly behaved dog to look after and see if it improves their behaviour.
But, a conference was told yesterday, the project at Oregon's MacLaren youth correctional facility has had a 100% success rate in cutting reoffending. In the period studied, between 1993 and 1999, around 100 young offenders aged between 18 and 24 cared for wayward dogs. So far, not one is back behind bars. "
