PHOTO COURTESY OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY | LINK, A 7-YEAR-OLD AUSTRALIAN SHEPHERD, WILL VISIT INCARCERATED JUVENILES AT ALLEGHENY COUNTY JAIL EACH MONTH AS PART OF A NEW THERAPY DOG PROGRAM.

Therapy dogs have been known to help ease people’s stress, lower blood pressure and bring sheer joy to those they visit.

Allegheny County Jail Warden Orlando Harper has announced that a new four-legged friend will visit the facility monthly to help incarcerated juveniles. 

Link, a 7-year-old Australian shepherd, and his handler, Allegheny Health Network employee Megan Chapman, will initially work with the juvenile population during monthly visits to the facility.

“We are excited to bring Link and Megan to the Allegheny County Jail,” Harper said in a county press release. “Therapy dogs have been shown to be helpful in supporting both academic and psychological growth, promoting self-esteem and increasing social skills.”

Link is expected to help juveniles in complex therapy groups conducted by the jail’s high school, the Academic Institute, which is run in conjunction with a partnership with the Allegheny Intermediate Unit, a regional public education agency.

The juvenile student population at the jail is divided into four therapy groups that meet for 20 minutes each. Parental or guardian consent was received for each juvenile in the program, and they can choose to opt out at any time.

The hope is that Link will help increase empathy and compassion in students, decrease student anxiety and oppositional behaviors that hinder their academic growth, increase positive attitudes about learning and school, improve self-esteem, provide a sense of connection and lessen emotional trauma, according to the press release.

After Shuman Juvenile Detention Center closed in 2021, juveniles who have been charged with serious crimes have been housed in the Allegheny County Jail.

“We are pleased to incorporate animal-assisted therapy into our trauma-focused counseling curriculum,” said Mariah Hartman, the jail’s Academic Institute counselor. “Therapy dogs bring comfort and non-judgment to group sessions, which is crucial for our students.”

“Therapy dogs can help increase literacy skills, improve focusing during school and reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety,” said Renee Madden, a deputy health services administrator at the jail. 

Link has been a certified therapy dog for nearly a year through the Alliance of Therapy Dogs. Link and Chapman regularly visit behavioral health patient groups and make staff and patient rounds at AHN’s Jefferson Hospital. They also attend other events and fulfill clinic requests throughout the AHN network.

The Alliance of Therapy Dogs is a volunteer organization of therapy dog handlers and dogs that visit schools, hospitals, special needs centers, nursing homes and airports. 

Dogs and their handlers complete a unique testing process that involves handling the dog in three different therapy situations under the observation of an evaluator to ensure the team has a good working relationship and that the dog has the right temperament for therapy.