Prison puppy program reshapes lives in New Mexico

LOS LUNAS — Justin Stone was never one for dogs, having never owned one in his life.

But since being sentenced in 2024 to multiple years at the Central New Mexico Corrections Facility, he’s grown to love dogs and spends a majority of his days training and taking care of his German shepherd puppy, Millie.

She’s the fourth dog he’s been able to train. Some time before, Stone trained another dog he lovingly dubbed Draco, who was adopted by his nieces and nephews. Stone said it was a way to give his family a piece of himself and his love, even if he could not be there himself.

“It’s nice knowing that I’m preparing these animals for success,” he said. “They get to go to a family, go to a home. It holds its own benefits.”

Stone is one of 27 inmates — 16 who are primary and 11 who are secondary in case someone is sick or gets released — who spend their days training and handling puppies from local dog shelters in New Mexico, one of dozens of programs the New Mexico Corrections Department offers to inmates. 

Some, like the puppy program, are meant to teach inmates empathy and give them stress relief in their day-to-day lives while serving their sentences. Similarly, a gardening program helps inmates from the Mental Health Treatment Center learn how to work with vegetation and gives them the chance to work with large-scale seed planting. The produce is donated to local food banks.

Others, like the commercial driver’s license program, give prisoners the opportunity to prepare for a life outside of a cell and help them reenter society with skills to give them a better chance at employment.

“It’s a good use of my time,” Stone said. “I always say success happens when preparation meets opportunity. So if this is any way I can prepare something better than the life I’ve had, I need to take advantage of that.” 

Though his plans aren’t quite set, Stone is contemplating becoming a professional dog handler or joining a volunteer program when he is released from prison.

The programs are about more than stress relief and job opportunity. Each time a prisoner enters one of the programs, they are given the chance to restart their lives with the hopes of dropping the recidivism rate in New Mexico, said Corrections Secretary Alisha Tafoya Lucero.

“We do lots of work to bridge the gap between incarceration and community to do everything that we can,” she said.

Recidivism is the rate of inmates who end up back in prison after being released. The rate is based off a three-year period, according to Tafoya Lucero. 

In recent years, New Mexico's recidivism rate has dropped from nearly 50% to 33%, though it did rise up to nearly 40% in 2024, according to previous Journal reporting. The state’s current recidivism rate is 36.7%.

The state was well above the national rate of 27%. It is unclear what current national rates are, as the most recent set of data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics was in 2021 and based off 24 states from 2008 to 2018. 

Congress in 2008, with bipartisan support, passed the Second Chance Act, which is a federal investment that launched reentry partnerships — such as the dog program in New Mexico — to help inmates reenter society and “improve their participation in the economy,” according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Recidivism at the national level can be difficult to calculate and compare because every state has a different way of collecting data and defining what they consider recidivism.

“Recidivism is often measured by criminal acts that resulted in rearrest, reconviction, or return to incarceration with or without a new sentence during a specific follow-up period following the person's release (e.g., for 3 years post-release),” states a National Institute of Justice article. “Although harder to quantify, acts of misconduct that do not result in official sanctions may also be considered when measuring recidivism.”

The New Mexico Corrections Department includes parole violations in their calculations, according to spokesperson Brittany Roembach. She said that based on reviews, the most common reason for an offender to return to prison is “someone picking up a new felony.”

The program is highly competitive and inmates with sex offenses or animal abuse crimes are not allowed to participate. For Stone and Raul Rodriguez, their puppies give them a sense of purpose as they finish the remainder of their sentences.

Rodriguez, who was sentenced on drug trafficking charges, said he never imagined he would get the chance to own a dog while in prison. But when he learned he was chosen to train and handle his Australian cattle dog, Copper, he said it brought him the most joy he’s had since entering prison.

“This is a blessing,” he said after showing off the various tricks he taught Copper. “It takes a lot of the stress away from being locked up. Half the time, you’re not thinking about being locked up because your attention is on the dog.” 

Rodriguez said Copper brings joy to all the inmates, not just him. Copper has a crate inside Rodriguez’s cell and he said many of the inmates try to pet the dog and are excited to see the small puppy. 

For Stone and Rodriguez, the dogs provide them companionship, remind them to practice patience and empathy, and give them a sense of hope for their futures in and out of the facility.

“I just love it,” Rodriguez said. “It brings a lot of joy to me. They just bring a lot of enlightenment to the whole pod.” 

Nakayla McClelland covers crime and breaking news. Reach her at nmcclelland@abqjournal.com or at 505-823-3857.