Canine therapy now available to Krakow prisoners

Some incarcerated people in Krakow now have the opportunity to spend time with shelter dogs, Polish-language news outlet Radio Krakow reports.

After a three-hour lecture on working with animals, the “dogotherapy” consists of walking with the dogs, playing with them, and teaching them basic commands.

The purpose, organizers said, is both to help prisoners resocialize as well as to provide playmates for dogs living in the shelter. In general, benefits of canine-assisted therapy can include stress relief, increased fitness, and improvement in symptoms of some psychiatric disorders.