Desert Shadows (9781615952250) (28 page)

PERRYVILLE, AZ—Inmates at the Perryville Correctional Facility for Women have a lot to smile about these days. Thanks to the efforts of inmate Megan Alden-Taylor, they are enrolled in a program which trains service dogs for the disabled.


Alden-Taylor, who is currently serving a six-year sentence for negligent homicide, oversees the training of dogs rescued from Maricopa County animal shelters. At the present time, ten dogs and ten inmates are involved in the program. However, Alden-Taylor says she hopes that the program spreads to other correctional facilities in the state.


“This is a way for inmates to contribute to the community,” Alden-Taylor said, hugging a Golden Retriever mix. “Giving these animals another chance at life helps us make amends for the crimes we've committed.”


Rescuing animals runs in the Alden-Taylor family. Her sister-in-law, Sandra Alden-Taylor-Brookings, who with her husband, John, runs the popular Hacienda Guest House, contributes a portion of the profits to the animal rescue program.


Megan's husband, Scottsdale publisher Zachary Alden-Taylor, recently purchased a sprawling ranch near the prison, where he and more than fifty volunteers rescue and treat abandoned and abused animals.


Much of Zachary Alden-Taylor's own animal rescue program is paid for by his company, Patriot's Blood Press, one of the most successful independent mystery publishers in the United States.