People have this negative image of prisons. Perhaps part of it is from television and movies, where they make the ‘wretched hive of scum and villainy’ line from ‘Star Wars’ seem true. Hardly a day goes by where an inmate is not plotting the demise of another one. While there is a kernel of truth to some scenes, there is active rehabilitation being done too. Like this story from the ‘Oprah Winfrey Show’ details.
We see Bill Campbell, a soldier who was given an honorable discharge because of brain injury, and Pax, his service dog, go to a prison. When they get there, they see an inmate named Lori, who runs out and hugs Pax. Well, she runs out in the prison yard, since she’s in lockup and all. You see, she trained Pax so that he could be a service dog for Campbell. This was a sweet reunion for both of them.
Lori was so moved by what Pax had done for her. Here she was, locked in a prison and training this dog was something that gave her life some purpose, some meaning. Knowing that he relied on her is what made her swing her feet off her prison cot each day and put them on the ground. Getting to see him again after he went off for his service career helped her immeasurably. I hope that she gets to train other dogs, since she did a great job with Pax.
This shows you that prison doesn’t have to be a place where the worst reprobates go to just while away their days, or even kill each other while in there. It’s a place where people who messed up in their lives can still do things to be productive members of society. Pax is a living example of that – unless she also taught him a secret code word to bring nail file for her to break out of prison.
Wasn’t this a great story? Then again, Oprah always was the best at finding human interest stories to target. What did you think? Aren’t all the people in this video pretty incredible? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section and please ‘Like’ us on Pinterest.
