In her nine years on Earth, Savannah has never known a traditional home. Until now. On an overcast Monday morning, the pitbull and lab mix waits nervously in the visitors' parking lot at Riverbend Correctional Facility, not fully understanding what is happening. As she sits in the back of the SUV owned by volunteer prison dog program director Debra Campbell, her best friend goes through preparations for release after an 11-year stretch behind bars.
When James Shindorf, or Jim, a self-described “career criminal” takes his walk of freedom March 19, Savannah is the first to meet him after just a few hours apart. For Savannah, shy, withdrawn and uneasy instantly becomes happiness and excited tail wagging. After a swig of Dr. Pepper and a sigh of relief, Shindorf makes signing Savannah’s adoption papers his first order of business as a free man.
The welcoming party outside the prison includes Campbell, who runs the Baldwin County Jail Dog Program, which pairs euthanasia list dogs with inmate trainers. It was because of his cellmate’s participation in the program that Shindorf first met Savannah. The party also includes Shindorf’s former schoolmates, cousin by adoption Marcie Williams, and her fiance Billy Mcelroy. Because of their generosity and open arms, Shindorf and Savannah will have a home to call their own. Also present is a key figure in Savannah’s past, who wishes to remain anonymous for personal reasons. It’s because of her that Savannah lived to see happiness. She’s here to say goodbye to her friend.
Savannah’s story
While Savannah will spend the rest of her life surrounded by love, her story begins in tragic circumstances, tied to a three-foot-long chain.
“When she was first discovered, she was on a short chain in somebody’s yard and being very abused,” Campbell said. “In an effort to try to escape, she chewed on a chain so much that her teeth are pretty much gone.”
In a previous adoption plea letter put together by prison inmates, “Savannah” explains what happened next: “Then one day I prayed for God to help me,” the letter reads. “Soon after a nice lady came and cut the chain and took me with her.”
Savannah’s rescuer passed her on to another kind individual, who took her in — the same woman who would come to see her as she prepared to head home with Shindorf.
Because of the abuse, though, Savannah struggled to get along with other animals and was unable to stay at the home of her new benefactor. She instead lived the next three years of her life in a kennel at a local pet clinic, well taken care of, but still lacking a forever home.
“She was kind of like in the witness protection program, like in hiding,” Campbell said.
Campbell, who was aware of Savannah’s situation, would eventually enroll her in a program at Riverbend in March 2016, to save her from a seemingly inevitable trip to the high-kill Baldwin County Animal Shelter. The prison dog program would be pivotal in her search for a home.
Prison dogs
Riverbend Correctional Facility, a private prison operated by The GEO Group, Inc. has offered a dog training program to inmates since 2015 as part of a corporate mandate. Unlike many other prisons, which pair inmates with selectively bred future service dogs, Riverbend partners with Baldwin County Animal Shelter to give rejected dogs a second lease on life. Inmates participating in the program get companionship and animal training experience, and the dogs learn basic obedience and get listed for adoption. Campbell has volunteered at the shelter since 2014 and has headed up the Baldwin County Jail Dog Program since its inception in 2015.
“At the time, assistant warden (Patrick) Gartland had a big heart for animals. Assistant warden (Angela) Reaves came out to the shelter because they decided that what they wanted here was something a little different. They decided they wanted to save lives,” Campbell remembers.
“They just happened to come out to the shelter one day and say, ‘would you like to partner with us?’ And of course, I jumped up immediately with no authority and said ‘yes, yes, yes, absolutely we do.’ And of course, then came the hunt for a teacher.”
After some soul searching, Campbell, a retiree, would take the lead in developing a dog training curriculum and facilitating the program. Since June 2015, dogs that would have been euthanized have been adopted by loving families across the U.S. and even Canada. An average of eight animals participate at any given time, and Savannah is the 33rd dog saved and the second to be adopted by an inmate who participated in the program.
“They (inmates) meet with Miss Campbell three days a week,” said Assistant Warden Angela Reaves just before Shindorf’s release. “Any training that they do with Miss Campbell, they’re taking it back to the units, reinforcing that training so that hopefully someone who’s getting a dog is getting a well-trained pet and an addition to their family.”
The inmates almost literally stay with their dogs 24/7, leaving them only to go to the cafeteria. After an eight to 10-week training period is completed, the dogs are advertised for adoption on social media, but continue staying at the prison, where they are loved by everyone, until a family is found.
Head Warden Fredrick Head acknowledges the positive impact the program has had on his prison, which he says commonly brings out compassion in selfish, hardened criminals.
“As the warden of Riverbend, it’s extremely important that we have programs like this,” Head said. “What a great program. A win-win situation for the animal and also for the inmates.”
Shindorf’s story
When Shindorf came to Riverbend, he was already well into turning his life around.
“I am a career criminal. I’ve been to prison seven times,” Shindorf said just after his release. “I just finally buckled down, and decided to do something different.”
Taking steps toward a future career, Shindorf took advantage of a braille transcription training program while at Wheeler Correctional Facility in Alamo. After being denied transfer to a transitional facility, he ended up at Riverbend, where he first met Savannah. For him, being around the dogs that other inmates were training, especially Savannah, met an important need.
“You miss companionship in here,” Shindorf said, pointing across the parking lot at the prison. “Just having a dog … (you) walk in your room and stuff’s bothering you, and you got your room, you got her … the affection they give you — they’re loyal beyond belief in here.”
When he first saw Savannah, he fell in love.
“I got put in the dorm with her and another handler, and just fell in love with her and her story,” he said. “I wanted to be a part of it, and I started putting in for the dog program immediately.”
As a new trainer, Shindorf started out training a different dog. After Savannah’s first trainer was released, Campbell could see the bond between the pair and placed her with Shindorf while she waited for a home.
“I told her I wanted her and wanted to take her home,” Shindorf said.
That was October 2017 and Savannah was already up for adoption. When no one else responded, Shindorf got his wish.
“She has a real quirky attitude,” Shindorf said when asked what first drew him to her. “She has tricks she does …You should see her with people with food. She’ll just immediately go over to them and sit pretty.”
Shindorf and Savannah demonstrate the “sit pretty” trick in the Riverbend parking lot. He holds up a treat, and Savannah sits on her hind legs with her front paws extended in the air.
Shindorf is well aware of Savannah’s past and loves her all the more for it.
“That dog shouldn’t have to go through that,” he said, recounting how she was tied to a chain. “My way of thinking is, I’m gonna get a dog when I get out anyhow, and if I can take one like that with me, it kills two birds with one stone.”
Mcelroy and Marcie
Shindorf’s cousin Marcie and her fiance “Mcelroy” are literally lifesavers for him and Savannah.
“I have no family,” Shindorf said. “If it wasn’t for Mcelroy and Marcie, I wouldn’t have anybody. I wouldn’t have a place to go right now without them two.”
Mcelroy and Williams (Marcie), who own two houses, plan to welcome the pair into their current home in Cartersville for a two-month transitional period. After that, they will be moving out to care for an elderly relative and Savannah and Shindorf will have the house to themselves. Shindorf hopes to get plugged in with a career as a braille transcriptionist and support Savannah on his own. But he’ll have plenty of backup in loving her.
“She’s going into a really big support group as well. My mother, she’s 69 years old and she just loves animals to death,” Mcelroy said. “She’s (Savannah) got a permanent home. She definitely does. He’s not gonna be on the move and neither is she.”
Past meets future
As Savannah prepares to leave for her new life in North Georgia, emotions run high for Campbell and the anonymous benefactor who has come to get a glimpse of Savannah’s future and say one last goodbye. Savannah perks up when she sees her friend from the past.
“I wanted her mainly to come meet Mr. Shindorf and just settle in her mind that it’s all good,” Campbell said. “She’s the one that started this whole chain of events way back when, years ago. It’s an amazing ride for this dog.”
When Savannah and Shindorf lean in to give each other a kiss, everyone involved can see she is in good hands.
"I thought this would be the best home this girl would ever know,” Campbell said, pointing to the prison and tearing up, “and I was grateful for that, but when (Shindorf) came … I was totally surprised and beyond pleased … I think that God knows what he’s doing. I truly do, because this has been a prayer of mine from the moment I met Savannah.”
“The care doesn’t stop here. It’s something he’s taking out with him,” said a proud Assistant Warden Reaves of the jail dog program’s most recent success story. “So proud that he’s able to do this.”
To keep up with the prison dog program and for information on dogs up for adoption, visit the Friends of Baldwin Animal Control in Milledgeville, GA and the Baldwin County Jail Dog Program - Georgia Facebook pages.
