This unique canine training and treatment program has helped
more than 200 youth rise to the challenge of helping shelter dogs learn good
behavior, improving their adoptability.
PAWS began at the Ron Jackson State Juvenile Correctional
Facility in 2010. It was a collaborative effort between Burton, who’d long
envisioned a program modeled on the first prison canine training effort (at a
women’s facility in Washington), and Holli Fenton, an employee at Ron Jackson
with ties to the dog rescue community in Brownwood.
Burton, who has a master’s in counseling psychology, designed the PAWS regimen, which he explains helps to break down the psychological walls that TJJD youth have built in response to their hard lives. Fenton put PAWS into operation at Brownwood, where girls in residence began working with dogs that had suffered neglect and abuse.
Burton, who has a master’s in counseling psychology, designed the PAWS regimen, which he explains helps to break down the psychological walls that TJJD youth have built in response to their hard lives. Fenton put PAWS into operation at Brownwood, where girls in residence began working with dogs that had suffered neglect and abuse.
It wasn’t hard to see the synergy. The youth develop an
empathy toward the PAWS dogs, who are vulnerable and need loving attention, and
teach the canines better behavior, enabling them to better attract adoptive
families.
The youth use a set training curriculum that meets the
American Kennel Club’s guidelines, ultimately helping the dogs to pass the AKC “Good
Citizenship” certification. It’s a high bar for some of the dogs, and many of
the youth.
“I have watched them give up, struggle and get mad and get
frustrated – and it all builds toward this (dog citizenship) test,” Burton said.
When the youth succeeds, quite often the tears flow. For many teens, it can be
a breakthrough moment of achievement, altering how they see themselves, Burton
said.
Building the PAWS program and helping youth gain
competencies – seeing them learn to be gentle, patient and persistent – has
been just an incredible journey, Burton said.
“The dogs touch the youth in ways maybe we can’t,” he said,
because they’re authentic, open and have no pretenses or ulterior motives.
“The dog opens the
door (to the youth’s inner self), and we don’t have to take a sledgehammer to
knock it down” (in therapy).
Burton credits dedicated TJJD staff and community volunteers
and donors for the success of PAWS, which now also operates at the Giddings and
Gainesville campuses. More than 250 dogs have graduated from the program since
it began.
Burton began work at the Texas Youth Commission in 1996 as a treatment specialist. In 2005, he became the manager of the Professional Development Academy, working with 14 specialists in the field on the Resocialization Treatment Program. That program, based on cognitive behavioral theory, was ultimately reorganized, but still has components in place in treatment programs at TJJD.
Burton began work at the Texas Youth Commission in 1996 as a treatment specialist. In 2005, he became the manager of the Professional Development Academy, working with 14 specialists in the field on the Resocialization Treatment Program. That program, based on cognitive behavioral theory, was ultimately reorganized, but still has components in place in treatment programs at TJJD.
Burton later worked to implement reforms passed in 2009 that
mandated TYC use an accepted assessment tool known as the Positive Achievement
Change Tool (PACT). Burton oversaw training by vendors, assuring that staff
across the agency was up to speed on PACT.
After state retirement, Burton plans to continue working
with dogs in a private training business he operates and expects he will start
another job. For fun, he and his wife Suzanne Scharle, formerly also of TJJD,
will continue their scuba diving adventures.