The six words that Northern Ireland’s dog-lovers were waiting to hear came on Monday: “Bailey is now out of prison.”
A vocal campaign to free the cocker spaniel who committed no crime culminated in his release from Magilligan prison and transfer to an undisclosed location to begin a new life.
“Bailey is out of that environment, is now in a family home, with someone who is trained to look after him,” Jon Burrows, an Ulster Unionist party (UUP) assembly member, told the Belfast Telegraph.
Bailey had been placed in the medium-security prison in County Derry as a support dog for prisoners but reports in August about his condition – he was said to be limping and “quivering” at night because of alarms, shouts and fights – prompted an outcry.
Animal rights activists organised protests under the banners #alldogsmatter and #ProtectBailey and lobbied the Department of Justice to relocate the former family pet, who was reportedly kept in block H2 with violent prisoners, including sex offenders and animal abusers.
Causeway Coast Dog Rescue said: “After a reputable animal welfare charity declined to provide a therapy dog, Bailey was sourced informally and placed in a high-security environment with no certified training or therapy dog oversight.”
There was no risk assessment or accountability and instead of returning to a family home after each “shift”, Bailey was stuck in the prison 24 hours a day, the charity said.
Newspapers gave prominent coverage to a “free Bailey” campaign and politicians intervened. Burrows – whose UUP profile calls him a champion against those facing injustice – told the Stormont assembly that Bailey had been “incarcerated for life”.
He made the announcement on Monday that the dog was out. “The full circumstances of Bailey leaving prison will have to be examined,” he said. “There’s going to be an effort I hope made to try and find Bailey a permanent home to live in. This has been a disgraceful episode from start to finish.”
Burrows said prison officers lacked dog-handling training and that Bailey had lacked a primary handler and an opportunity to “recuperate” in a domestic setting.
A prison service spokesperson there had been no neglect and that a threat from outside the prison, relayed by police, had prompted Bailey’s transfer.
“A perfectly happy and well-looked-after dog at Magilligan prison has had to be moved after the PSNI made us aware of a callous and calculated external threat to say that Bailey was going to be harmed in an attempt to embarrass the governor,” they said.
Bailey had been safe and cared-for when inside Magilligan and was safe and cared-for now, said the spokesperson. “The benefits of dogs providing emotional support is widely recognised. In prison environments dogs can offer support to people with poor mental health and addiction issues, help promote positive changes in behaviour and reduce stress and anxiety.”
The spokesperson said “inaccurate and sensationalist reporting” of the case had caused the prison service “unnecessary distraction”.
