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[Back to index of July/August articles] Helping hands and paws By Meg Bryant Retired veterinarian Earl Strimple has always had a thing for animals. He has a thing for people, too, and for enhancing the lives of prisoners, nursing home residents, hospital and hospice patients and others who can benefit from an animal’s company. In 1982, Strimple founded PAL (People, Animals, Love), a nonprofit organization based on the concept that animals can have a therapeutic effect on humans. One of the group’s first projects involved inmates at Lorton Prison in Fairfax, Virginia, and the hundreds of feral cats that roamed the 3,000-acre correctional facility. Strimple, who at the time was in private practice in Washington, was intrigued that prisoners would share their meals with an “adopted” cat in return for the comfort afforded by having the animal around. “The interesting thing about working with inmates is that they have a hard time forming relationships,” explains Strimple, a St. Alban’s parishioner and a former member of the diocese’s Committee on Prison Ministry. Caring for a pet made them “responsible for something for the first time in their life.” Strimple arranged with a pet food manufacturer to provide food for the cats and got drug companies to donate vaccines, “and we started taking care of the animals,” he says. “It gave them a different focus, which is really important when 24 hours a day you’re told what to do.” The inmates formed their own organization, deciding who, for instance, would be in charge of handing out each day the one-pound sacks of cat food. Over time, PAL brought in birds and fish as well for the inmates to tend. They developed a job training program, teaching inmates to be animal caretakers and helping some of them find jobs when they were released from prison. The program continued until 1998, when the Lorton facility closed down. In January, Hartz Mountain Corp. recognized Strimple’s work bringing people and animals together, naming him “2004 Hartz Veterinarian of the Year.” His efforts were also recognized at the Westminster Dog Show in February in New York. The impact of the Lorton project went beyond easing loneliness and filling empty hours, notes Strimple. Recidivism after three years among inmates who participated in the pet program dropped to less than 10 percent, compared to 66 percent nationally, according to a non-controlled study. “Oftentimes, for people who are in a nursing home, our volunteers and the animal that comes to see them are the only visitors they have that month,” says Sherry Hall, executive director of PAL. A major component of PAL’s outreach—bringing animals to inner-city youth—grew out of concern that children of incarcerated parents often wind up in prison themselves. That led to the founding of an after-school club and summer camp in the Edgewood Terrace neighborhood in Northeast Washington. The after-school program, called PAL Club, meets five days a week, offering children in grades two through five a safe alternative to playing in the streets, and introduces them to a variety of “pocket pets,” including rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, cockatiels, lizards and frogs. There have also been some more exotic visitors-boa constrictors, mallard ducks, a gray-faced owl and a raven. The students learn to take care of the animals and develop discussions around the animals. They also learn about science and the scientific method, using a curriculum that is based on the animal kingdom, a strategy that has resulted in higher performance in science among club members compared with classmates who don’t attend the club. The seven-week summer camp provides many of the same experiences, as well as frequent field trips to places such as the National Zoo. According to Strimple, one of the highlights of camp is “Dog Day,” when volunteers bring their pets to meet the children. As the kids become acquainted with the dogs, they “start to develop empathy and will bring a dog a glass of water because they [the child] are thirsty. That’s what we’re trying to teach these kids,” he says. Pets are typically not a part of inner-city life, notes Strimple. One of the rewards of the program is seeing a child develop confidence around animals and learn to trust and nurture them. “The thing about animals is that they’re very honest,” he says. “You treat me well, I’ll treat you well.” He recalls a young girl who screamed and ran into the bathroom after encountering a garter snake that was visiting PAL Club; two weeks later, she was holding the snake in her hands and telling the other children about it. A former U.S. Army captain, Strimple graduated from Ohio State University Veterinary School and founded the MacArthur Animal Hospital in Washington in 1973. He is an internationally respected expert on the healing nature of the human-animal bond and is frequently invited by groups to speak on the topic. “Earl is a very remarkable person, a very solid person,” notes Hall, who met Strimple years ago when she took her puppy to his clinic. “The roots that he comes out of are strong community roots, and he has just carried that and been an example of that all through his life. It’s really what gives PAL its character and its definition and its spirit.” Strimple recalls a young patient at Bethesda Naval Hospital who was undergoing treatment for a tumor in her neck. “Her head was shaved, she had a halo on to support her neck, and the doctors couldn’t get her out of bed. But when a volunteer with a dog came into the room, she hopped out of bed and wanted to take [the animal] for a walk.” The doctor later said that the animal had accomplished what none of the medical staff was able to do. “There are hundreds of stories like that,” he says. [Back to index of July/August articles]
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