Every Monday, a group of six inmates visits the Animal Shelter in Wroclaw. They spend a whole day in the area. They clean the pens, take care of the animals and take the dogs for a walk. In so doing, they carry out a programme designed by Wadim Liśniewski from Darling Dogs.
Twelve men are admitted to take part in the programme. In groups of six they take turns to visit the Wroclaw shelter.
The inmates were selected by their curators from the Penitentiary in ul Kleczkowskiej. One condition was key in the admission process: a confidence that the candidate will not cause any trouble outside of the prison.
"The first visit to the shelter was very telling. Some of the inmates have spent more than ten years behind the bars. No wonder, then, that they spent a lot of time talking and enjoying themselves. On subsequent visits, however, they were also very moved by the suffering of the animals," says Wadim Liśniewski.
The inmates spend a lot of time with the cats. They clean the pens, empty out litter trays and domesticate wild cats. The next three hours in the programme are devoted to the dogs. The inmates can choose the dogs they want to spend more time with. They usually choose the dogs that spent most of their lives in the shelter and are old and forlorn. The men pay most of their attention to such dogs. "The inmates and the animals have developed a real bond over the last few weeks," adds Wadim Liśniewski.
The men know the names of their charges and know how to call them. They clean their pens, take care of their fur, comb it and wash it. "The programme "Freedom on a Leash" is going to run for two years. But I'll do everything in my power to make it permanent," recaps Wadim Liśniewski.
Photographs by courtesy of Wadim Liśniewski
