MARIANNA, Fla. (AP) Fred Smith discovered at age 8 that there weren't
enough hours in the day to take care of a dog and sell cocaine.

So Smith's pet of choice was a snake. It could survive in a small cage,
didn't thrive on human attention, and was able to go days without food while
he sold drugs on the streets of Florida.

Now at 16, Smith has plenty of spare time on his hands while he is confined
to the Jackson Juvenile Offender Corrections Center in Marianna.

He will also finally get a chance to care for a dog in a pilot program in
which juvenile offenders train canines for senior citizens while learning
skills that may help them succeed when they are finally released.

"At least I've got something to fall back on," he said of the new program,
the first of its kind in Florida.

FETCH, which stands for Friends of the Elderly Training Companions for
Homes, aims to save canines from dog pounds and racetracks and make them
companions for the elderly. To prepare the dogs for that role, the canines
will be sent to centers for juvenile offenders, who will train them.

Charles Miner Jr., an appeals court judge, came up with the idea for the
program.

"It occurred to me that a youngster who can get into your automobile without
breaking a window and can get your stereo in 30 seconds can certainly be
taught to train animals," Miner said.

Doug Price, 14, said he started stealing things because he was bored and
needed a challenge. FETCH appeals to Price because it will alleviate some of
the boredom he encounters while serving time for armed robbery.

"It'll get me out of the pod," Price said. "Otherwise, you only get an hour
outside every day. It'll give me a chance to help somebody instead of
victimize them."

The Jackson juvenile center resembles a maximum-security prison, with
electronic doors at every turn and razor wire surrounding the fences. Its
superintendent, Dale Edwards, is conducting a screening process to find
juveniles who he believes are ready for the program but admits there really
is no way to tell whether their interest is legitimate.

"How do I know we're not being used?" Edwards said. "How do I know this
isn't just a ploy to get off the pod? And it may well be. But if you've
complied in every other area of the facility, and you've shown a willingness
to try things, I don't have a problem with someone saying, `I don't know
whether I'm going to like this, but I'd like an opportunity."'

There are similar dog training programs in certain adult prisons across the
United States. Florida's new 20-week program is expected to start in January
with about five dogs, but that number could increase greatly if it is
successful.

Upon completion of FETCH, the juveniles will be certified as pet
nutritionists. That appeals to Smith, who says he wants to find a way to
support his pregnant girlfriend.

"I can get out and try to get this job and work and achieve something," he
said.

Checked-by: Rolf Ernst