GROUP FOCUSES ON PREVENTION

Sometimes animals are more understanding than people.

At least, that's the creed Dogs Against Drugs, and its employees subscribe to.

"Our main theory of all of our different programs is prevention," said
Barbara Pettycrew, executive director of Dogs Against Drugs, also known as
Childrens Crisis Prevention Network. "Right before prevention is
intervention. We do that through educational awareness, and the
intervention part comes, unfortunately, when the dogs are used for searches."

Pettycrew and three of her staffers - field service representative Rick
Kramer, coordinator for prevention resource center Patty Polk and field
service representative Rummana Kilgore - were in town Monday to distribute
drug awareness literature to Jacksonville Independent School District campuses.

Dogs Against Drugs was founded in 1978, and it has been in Texas since
1984. The multi-faceted program is based in Athens and covers 16 counties.
Field service representatives take one of the eight dogs to each campus
several times each six weeks.

And the dogs are what makes the program so successful, Pettycrew said.

"Look at the world these kids are in," she said. "Too many are in families
that are using some kind of legal or illegal drug."

Starting in kindergarten, students are taught to respect and love the Dogs
Against Drugs dogs, who each wear harnesses bearing the "DAD" logo.

"They do look at that," Polk said. "They're also encouraged to write to the
dogs. That's where most of the problems come out."

Polk said there have been several instances where a child poured his or her
heart out to a DAD dog when no adults could get the child to talk. "They'll
spill their guts to that dog," Polk said. "They're like pet therapy."

Though the dogs do affect the children, Pettycrew said another important
aspect of the program is the presentation DAD representatives give.

In one instances, Polk was giving a program on abuse, and a student came up
to her after the presentation, ready to make a change.

"She recognized herself in the presentation," Pettycrew said. So Polk, the
student and the school counselor all sat down and worked together.

"She was really in a tough spot at home," Polk said. One of the reasons
Polk believes the program is so successful is because DAD representatives
and dogs aren't on school campuses every day, making them seem safer to
confide in.

Kramer agreed, adding to that foundation, saying kids can use DAD as a cop
out when friends ask them to do drugs.

"We tend to make a good excuse for kids not to use drugs," he said. Because
the dogs demonstrate their searching skills, he said many kids are less
inclined to bring drugs to school, knowing they may be found out at any time.

Kilgore, still new to the program, said she was glad to become part of the
DAD team on a part-time basis, even though she didn't really need a job.

"I wanted something actually to fill the time," Kilgore said. "I didn't
want something that was just work. I wanted something meaningful.

"I can't imagine how you would do this work and not touch someone," she said.

Petty crew agrees.

"We get those warm fuzzies," she said.

DAD teams make surprise stops at school on a regular basis, and something
their job isn't all fun. Many times, dogs are called in to search for
contraband. And on more than one occasion, students have been arrested as
the result of something a DAD dog has found.

"The (drug) problem is getting worse by leaps and bounds," Pettycrew said.
"In the past two years, I've seen it increase a lot."

Because of that, Pettycrew, her staff and the DAD drugs will be on
Jacksonville and Cherokee County campuses on a regular basis, trying to
stop children from using drugs before they start.