By Jami Gaudet

Photography by Mike Young

This is a tale of man’s best friend, of Maconites who opened their homes and hearts to stray dogs who badly needed both. It’s the story of Bondable Pups, an innovative law enforcement initiative doubling as a pet adoption program that pairs homeless dogs with Bibb County inmates serving time for low-level criminal offenses who care for, train, and prepare the dogs to become cherished family pets with assistance from young people at Macon’s Regional Youth Detention Center (RYDC), an arm of the Georgia Juvenile Justice System. 

INSIDE BONDABLE PUPS

Corporal Brandi Smith has supervised Bondable Pups since its inception in January of 2017. She’s a one-woman show with wide-ranging duties that include selecting and readying the dogs for adoption; managing their care; overseeing training; supervising the rotating team of inmates; photographing, videoing, and creating dog bios for social media and the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office’s (BSO) Facebook page; conducting each “meet and greet” with potential adopters; and finalizing each adoption.

A detailed vetting process precedes the adoption of a Bondable Pup because Smith strives for the perfect pairing of people and pets.

First, she visits Animal Services to view the current dogs and temperament tests a few approaching their 30^th day at the facility who, unless pulled by a rescue group or adopted, are placed on the euthanasia list.

Capacity at Animal Services is 80 dogs and 40 cats, according to Major Chris Patterson, who oversees several divisions of BSO, including Animal Services. “We stay full and rescue groups are a huge help. Most of the dogs we euthanize are behavioral cases due to trauma they’ve experienced or medical cases from abuse or being hit by a car,” Patterson explained.

Undeterred, Smith does what she can, and depending on the number of openings, makes her selections for Bondable Pups. Bondable Pups’ capacity is four medium-to-large adult dogs and two small dogs or puppies. Those chosen few dogs undergo a seven-day stray hold to monitor for illness or parasites and for any food aggression or behavioral changes that can occur during what she calls a decompression period.

For dogs who clear those hurdles, training begins. To entice adopters, Smith’s training photos and videos are sent to BSO’s public information officers for posting on BSO’s Facebook page and Instagram account.

When asked about the types of dogs she seeks for Bondable Pups, Smith said, “The characteristics are rarely the same. Some dogs are partial to women. Some only like men. Some like children, others don’t. Some require a fenced yard, others do not. I study how they behave with me, how they act when receiving a treat from my hand, how they react to other dogs and with the inmate assigned to them. And I always ask the inmates, who work 12 hours a day, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., for input.”

Although inmates are assigned to Bondable Pups by BSO, Smith approves their selection and is pleased when an inmate shows interest in the program, like Joe. The 42-year-old inmate has worked with Bondable Pups for nearly two months and said of his experience, “The program has been great for me. These dogs are my Zen. My interaction with them has gotten me out of myself. The dogs are helping me more than I’m helping them.” Smith even invites Joe along to the meet and greets she hosts with each potential adopter.

Smith considers every Bondable Pup adoption a success story because “most of the shelter dogs I select are approaching their euthanasia date, are on ‘a hold’ after an owner was charged with animal cruelty, or are particularly fearful,” which was the case with Genson, a Catahoula mix who went from petrified dog to much-loved pet.

GENSON

Corporal Smith spotted Genson, a completely feral dog, trembling in the back of a cage at Animal Services. The video of their initial meeting on the Bondable Pups Facebook page is heartbreaking.

Sitting on the floor of the cage and speaking softly to him, Brandi reached out to gently pet him as he timidly crept away from her. She reported, “He was so frightened that at the outset of his training, he urinated all over the trainer and me.”

Today, Genson happily resides with Corporal Dustin Mobbs, an 11-year-veteran of the BSO, his wife, children, and two other dogs, including the deputy’s work dog in the BSO K-9 unit, a Belgian Malinois with whom, Mobbs said, “Genson gets along famously.”

DEBO

His name is Debo, and Aug. 26, 2022, was his lucky day. And on that fateful Friday afternoon, there was a lot of luck to go around.

Darrell Lester, safety and training manager for the Macon-Bibb County Transit Authority, adopted “Chewy,” one of the innumerable strays regularly picked up by Macon-Bibb County Animal Services. Chewy, renamed “Debo” by Darrell, hopped a ride to his forever home in his new dad’s Ford F-150 truck.

Darrell Lester had definite ideas about the type of pet he wanted — “a young adult dog, solidly built, medium-size black male with a round face who appears formidable but is friendly.” A tall order, but Debo, a Staffordshire Terrier mix, commonly known as a pit bull, fit the bill.

For his part, Debo, a good-natured, 11-month-old, 53-pound canine, had no owner requirements; he just wanted a loving home. He had clocked untold hours chained outdoors, as evidenced by the scar circling his neck, and was captured by Animal Services while roaming off Edna Place.

Pit bulls get a bad rap as mean and aggressive. In reality, the breed’s top traits are intelligence, loyalty, affection, fearlessness, and reliability. Debo quickly adapted to the good life with Darrell, who said, “Debo is the opposite of mean and aggressive. He’s a big baby. When I’m home, he likes being wherever I am, and if I’m sitting on the couch, he wants to be on top of me.” Debo loves chew toys, long walks, and riding in Darrell’s truck, his head out the window to take in the scenery, ears and tongue flapping in the wind.

Lester laughed and said of his new sidekick, “I no longer need an alarm clock because Debo arrives at my bedside promptly at 5:30 a.m. every morning. He’s sad when he sees me getting ready for work and almost knocks me over when I get home at the end of the day. I find it hard not to spoil him.”

JED

It was a precarious time for the Fabian family. Bonafide pet lovers, their cat died the previous year, and while they wanted to add a dog to their family, they were concerned about bringing another one home due to the advanced age and declining health of their 11-year-old rescue. Liz explained, “We were hesitant to bring in a puppy or young dog to his detriment.”

Meanwhile, away at college in California, Liz and Matt Fabian’s daughter Faith became smitten with a large black and tan puppy she found among Bondable Pups’ online photos and shared her discovery with her mother.

Liz arranged for a meeting with the big, playful puppy, a German Shepherd/Brittany/Shetland Sheepdog mix (they had his DNA tested!) but told Corporal Smith that while Jed had great appeal, they were concerned about the effect a lively young dog would have on the family’s senior pet and weren’t ready to commit.

Undaunted, Brandi arranged for the Fabians to foster Jed for a few weeks. “It was nice not to be pressured. Fostering Jed allowed us to grow a relationship with him,” Liz said.

Unfortunately, their elder dog died six weeks after Jed was formally adopted. Fortunately, Jed was there in his goofy glory to help mend the Fabians’ broken hearts.

Liz is so enamored with Jed that she wrote a musical tribute to the tune of the 1960’s comedy, The Beverly Hillbillies, dedicated to the dog she loves and his namesake, Jed Clampett, and posted it to her Facebook page.

MILLER & KENZIE

What’s in a name? For Gizmo, the beautiful Australian Shepherd mix with bright blue eyes — everything. The one-year-old pup was adopted by Bibb County deputy Joanna Stokes after seeing his online photo and calling Corporal Smith, her BSO colleague, to express interest.

Corporal Stokes, employed at the Bibb County jail in booking and corrections, was unable to leave work that day, so Smith took Gizmo to the jail to visit Stokes, dazzling the deputy with his beauty and ability to perform every trick in the book.

Upon adoption, Stokes promptly renamed him Miller, a throwback to his rescue story: the pup had been found at Macon’s dog park on Adams Street tied to a tree alongside a case of Miller beer and an unopened bag of dog food.

Stokes describes Miller as “super brilliant,” but she realized he was bored and needed canine companionship. Enter Kenzie.

Although not actively seeking another dog, Stokes happened upon the online photo of a longhaired merle-colored dachshund puppy. “She’s brown, black, white, and gray, and I fell in love with her face,” Stokes recalled.

Kenzie was part of a hoarding case and, serendipitously, an available Bondable Pup. Although Stokes was love-struck, she didn’t know if Miller would cotton to a sibling. 

Repeatedly demonstrating her passion for facilitating adoptions, Smith encouraged Miller to spend the day with Kenzie at Bondable Pups by texting Stokes photos and videos of the Bondable Pups bonding.

Stokes said they’re quite a pair, describing Kenzie as the cuddliest dog. “She’s the boss who runs the house, and I am her person.” Their love is clearly mutual: Stokes has a paw print tattooed on her arm reading, “Proverbs 12:10: The righteous take care of the needs of their animals.”

GIDGET

In 2017, Attorney Lori Dodson, formerly with the Bibb County Public Defender’s Office, wanted to adopt a dog and support the new Bondable Pups initiative when a friend found a photo of an adorable Chihuahua/Manchester/Terrier mix named Sonic online and tagged Lori, who contacted Brandi, who shared the dog’s sad saga.

During a Department of Family & Children’s Services (DFCS) welfare check on children in a local home, they called Animal Services about a two-and-a-half-year-old female dog living outside in a small crate on a concrete slab who had already birthed three litters of puppies. Mercifully, the dog was removed.

Smith, who had pulled the dog for Bondable Pups, lamented that her coat was very thin, and it had taken three separate flea bombs to remove the fleas from her body. “Her coat was so bald in spots that I dressed her in a T-shirt before I allowed Lori to see her,” Smith said.

Upon adoption, Dodson renamed Sonic as Gidget. Of her transformation, Dodson said, “It took a while for hair to grow back, but she is the most affectionate dog who always wants to be in your lap. She’s incredibly sweet and loving, and though dogs like Gidget are purported to be yappy, she hardly barks.”

WHY BONDABLE PUPS?

Dog ownership isn’t for everyone. It takes time, patience, love, and money to adopt, feed, vaccinate, buy, and administer medications that prevent heartworm, fleas, and ticks. But the rewards are plenty, and the love and loyalty of a dog is an unshakable bond. 

Adopting a Bondable Pup is a goodwill trifecta. It gives local inmates meaningful, productive work during incarceration and at-risk youth at RYDC an opportunity to help train and socialize dogs as they learn marketable job skills and hone their own emotional skills in preparation for life outside jail or a juvenile detention center.

Patterson explained, “Adult inmates that work with Bondable Pups are in jail for crimes like DUI, minor theft, or failure to pay child support. They’re not part of the general jail population. Bondable Pups is a super program. These dogs get extra time and special training, which includes obedience skills that prepare them to go to a good home. If inmates stick with our program, they’ve had a meaningful job and learned skills they can use when released. We issue them a certificate they can take when they appear in court and can use it to seek employment at places like a veterinary clinic or with a rescue group.”

Joe, who will be released from the Bibb County Law Enforcement Center in January, said he is working to obtain veterinary certification. “The dogs are my babies. My children are grown, so I talk to them like they’re my children. And Bondable Pups is teaching me humility.”

Bondable Pups provides homeless dogs an opportunity to survive and thrive — and as quick as one is adopted, Brandi Smith is back at the shelter potentially saving another dog from death.

What began as a proposal to Bibb County Sheriff David Davis by former Bibb County Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Knight Pressley for inmates to walk, feed, and bathe dogs completing the rescue process has morphed into an excellent, full-fledged training program. 

Smith reported, “After Joe completes our four-hour course and his incarceration ends, he’ll qualify for work in the animal field. Veterinarians like their employees to have experience, and he will.” Joe could also work as a kennel tech in a boarding facility.

Bondable Pups helps inmates get back on their feet while saving the lives of more than 200 dogs since 2017, and a key element of that success story is Smith, who does everything possible to facilitate adoptions and ensures that every dog is as good for the home as the home is for the dog.

Smith quipped, “There’s a Macon mutt on every street corner, but with Bondable Pups, they quickly go from street dogs to divas.” Just ask Debo.

Сontact information

Bondable Pups: Blsmith2@maconbibb.us

Macon-Bibb County Animal Services: (478) 621-6774

4214 Fulton Mill Rd., Closed Sunday & Monday