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The authors of this perspective study have been running a CAI program with therapy dogs, called PAWSitive Support, in a Canadian federal prison since 2016. Thoughts from the program facilitators and interviews with prison staff indicate that the program, and specifically the therapy dogs, provides a unique and integrated source of comfort, support, and love for participants. These benefits are consistent with those seen in CAI programs outside of prisons. Unique to the prison setting appears to be an improvement in participant\u2013staff relations. The therapy dogs have helped participants to experience comfort and consequently express their emotions. This seems to contribute to their recognition of support within the prison system and specifically developing trust with staff. Additionally, the dogs have helped to create an experience of the feeling of love within the prison, interpreted as the feeling of being cared for, which is rare for this population. The authors suggest that the integration of a therapy dog intervention in prison could be a novel harm reduction strategy to address issues related to prisonization and associated mental health concerns, including substance use. This consideration can offer unique insight into the field of forensic psychiatry about providing compassionate care to patients.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyt.2023.1219096","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,8,3]],"date-time":"2023-08-03T12:26:31Z","timestamp":1691065591000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Unleashing compassionate care: canine-assisted intervention as a promising harm reduction approach to prisonization in Canada and its relevance to forensic psychiatry"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Maryellen","family":"Gibson","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Colleen Anne","family":"Dell","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Darlene","family":"Chalmers","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Grace","family":"Rath","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mansfield","family":"Mela","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,8,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","volume-title":"Welcome to the FORUM: A New Patient and Clinician Reported Outcome Measure for Forensic Mental Health Services","author":"Ryland","year":"2022"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"38","DOI":"10.1080\/24732850.2021.1945835","article-title":"\u201cEveryone needs to be cared for\u201d: exploring care from the perspective of prison officers working with young adult offenders","volume":"22","author":"Frost","year":"2021"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"671","DOI":"10.1177\/0306624X11414401","article-title":"Why do they hate us? 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