H EADLINES
Jon Grobman (center) poses with a group of incarcerated men at
California State Prison, Los Angeles County, in Lancaster. His own prison
term behind him, Grobman now works as director of programs for Paws
for Life K9 Rescue, which has incarcerated men train shelter dogs.

Photos courtesy of Rita Earl Blackwell via JTA.org
It was clear from the outset
that it wasn’t only the dogs who
were benefi ting.

Outside of the human-ca-
nine bond, “there is trust,”
said Tonner, who today runs
the program. “Th ese animals
come in with no judgment. Th e
dog was caged, in a shelter, and
wasn’t given opportunities, and
the guys relate to them in that
way. Th e dogs also make them
vulnerable; they open up their
emotions.” Prison is “not an enriching
environment,” Tonner said,
“but they’re able to take this dog
and enrich it in the ways they
would like to be enriched and
they take pride in that.”
The graduating dogs —
hundreds have been trained
by now — are then adopted
into “forever” homes, with
their trainers receiving regular
updates about them. As men
advance, some have learned how
to train service dogs, particularly
those that can be companions
for veterans with PTSD.

As soon as it became known
that Grobman was getting
out, he was off ered full-time
employment by Paws for Life;
he calls it his dream job.

As the group’s director
of programs, he is in charge
of bringing the therapeutic
benefi ts he had once experi-
enced to other men. So far, he
has helped start the program
in two prisons in Northern
California: Mule Creek State
Prison and the California
Medical Facility.

Grobman still sees Lazar on
his frequent visits to Lancaster.

“He’s obviously intelligent
with excellent people skills,”
Lazar said. “I’m quite impressed
with how much he continues to
give back. At every opportunity,
he really goes out of his way to
help others.”
During Grobman’s recent
visit to the CMF in Vacaville,
a group of men in prison blues
showed off their charges: Tank,
Panda, Hearts, Roger and
Farrah Fawcett. Th ree trainers
share a single dog, and they
are always paired with trainers
of diff erent races so as to
encourage interracial harmony.

“Working with the dogs can
make me forget I’m in prison,”
said Andrey Bernik, who identi-
fi ed himself as a Ukrainian Jew
on his mother’s side.

“We are warehoused here,
and for the most part, don’t
have any way to give back to
society,” said Chris Mann,
who’s been incarcerated for
nearly 30 years. “Most see
us only as the last crime we
committed, and not who we’ve
turned into. Knowing that the
dogs we trained will go to good
homes allows us a chance to
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Paws for Life says that, to
date, 39 of its participants have
had their sentences commuted.

Many of them are now working
with dogs on the outside. Not
one has returned to prison.

“All this good that came
from freeing Jon, helps free
us,” said Eddie Davis, another
incarcerated man at CMF. “In
an odd sort of way, Jon found
his passion and his purpose in
prison. He could now probably
be a corporate type, but he
wouldn’t be anywhere as happy
as he is now.”
How many of these men will
be given a second chance to
follow in Grobman’s footsteps
is ultimately up to the governor
and the parole board. But the
numbers continue to grow, and
his regular visits remind them
that it’s possible.

“Th is is my community,”
Grobman said. “I don’t want
people to forget about them.” ●
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SEPTEMBER 9, 2021
15