8 Bluffton dogs were unadoptable. Will 3 weeks in jail with inmates turn them around?

Eight Beaufort County dogs who have had trouble finding a good home — some for as long as years — will be spending the next three weeks at the Chatham County Detention Center with the hope that a short time behind bars will turn their lives around.

Deuce is a boxer mix whose owners left him at Bluffton’s Rogue Rescue three years ago. Ace, a Great Dane mix, has lived at the sanctuary for more than a year. Some of the dogs had once been close to euthanasia in a different shelter before they came to the no-kill Rogue Rescue.

The eight dogs were accepted this week into the detention center’s Operation New Hope, where inmates provide some much-needed training and socialization to help the dogs get adopted.

Along the way, the inmates pick up some valuable skills of their own, said Chatham County Sheriff John Wilcher.

“It helps the inmates, gives them something to do and keeps their minds occupied,” Wilcher said.

Wilcher said Operation New Hope was established in 2012. Over the last year, since Wilcher has been sheriff, it’s been expanded.

“I love animals,” he said. “I don’t like to see them euthanized. I’d rather let some nice family adopt them and give them a home.”

Jennifer Messer, who is Operation New Hope’s manager and trainer, said the dogs stay with the inmates 24 hours a day.

Inmates handle potty training and crate training, plus teach the dogs how to sit, stay and walk on a leash, among other basic obedience skills.

“The inmates do all the work,” Messer said.

That dog training experience, plus interaction with rescues and potential adopters, gives inmates skills they can use to get a job at a shelter, kennel or vet’s office once they’ve served their sentence.

For Rogue Rescue’s owner Dianne Chesser All, Operation New Hope’s willingness to train eight of her dogs couldn’t have come at a better time.

“It was a perfect time for me because I was getting bummed that none of my long-termers were getting adopted,” said All, who cares for 25 dogs at her facility.

Operation New Hope doesn’t charge the rescues for the training, and Wilcher said it doesn’t cost taxpayers any money either. It operates solely on donations.

All said small rescues can’t afford to have a trainer on staff, so dogs with even minor behavior issues sometimes can’t be adopted.

“I cried the day I went there because it really is a new hope for my dogs,” she said.

Melissa Kohne, director of reentry and social services for the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office, said Operation New Hope has helped train around 200 dogs this year. Some of those dogs have come from the Jasper Animal Rescue Mission, Lovable Paws Rescue in Hardeeville and Beaufort Animal Services.

“I think there’s been less than a handful that have not been adopted,” she said. “We have a pretty good success rate.”

Kohne said adoption day, when families can come to the detention center to meet the dogs at the end of training, is always a happy time.

“When you see parents and families come in, and they find a dog that attaches to that family and those children. ... It’s just pure joy to watch.”

To adopt a dog

Adoption day for the current class of dogs in Operation New Hope is from 9 to 11 a.m. Dec. 15.

Dogs who are being trained and will be up for adoption are featured on Operation New Hope’s Facebook page. You can find more photos and videos at www.facebook.com/ChathamCountySheriffOffice.

Dianne Chesser All said Rogue Rescue requires a home visit before each of its adoptions, so those who are interested are encouraged to fill out an application ahead of time at www.roguerescue.org.

Correction: An earlier version of this story did not include Dianne Chesser All’s full name.

This story was originally published November 29, 2018 at 11:19 AM.