Kappone the Konvict came into Denise Amundson’s life early one morning last September.

Amundson lives in Ogilvie and teaches psycho-social classes at Minnesota’s central intake facility for the Department of Corrections in St. Cloud. Upon arriving at work one morning she opened the window of her classroom only to hear “the most horribly terrifying screams.” When she went outside to investigate she was surprised to discover a tiny, very frightened kitten within the prison recreation yard. When she moved toward the cat, he immediately ran to the razor wire surrounding the yard where he quickly got caught in the wires.

Amundson, who admits she is not particularly a cat person, could not bear to see the tiny creature suffer so she went to help the kitten. After extricating the frightened cat she decided to release it in a nearby meadow, thinking the cat might seek out one of the nearby residences. The kitten ran for a few yards, stopped, looked at her and immediately came back to her.

“He chose me – I didn’t choose him,” she recounted.

Not knowing what else to do, she put the cat into her car, checking on it during her lunchtime and then she decided to take it home with her for the night. The tiny, emaciated kitten instantly curled up on her shoulder and remained there for the rest of the ride home to Ogilvie.

Since she already owned three dogs, she wasn’t sure how the kitten would respond to her dogs and vice versa but she needn’t have worried. Almost from the start the kitten soon became a part of her home and has remained there since.

The story does not end there, however. In her job at the corrections facility she sees up to 60 offenders a day and almost from the start word of her rescue of “Kappone the Konvict” spread throughout the prison.

The Level 4 facility serves as the central intake source for men entering the Minnesota prison system, and Amundson says she sees on a daily basis the “hopelessness, sadness and frustration” the men are facing.

“I like to use humor to try to break the ice as we try to help these guys take a stab at life,” she explained.

Since Kappone’s rescue and the ensuing interest in the cat, Amundson says she has been able to incorporate the daily antics of the cat in her attempts to engage prisoners and get them to open up.

“The offenders love that Kappone was busted out of prison,” she says with a hearty laugh, “and they especially enjoy hearing that when I first took him home I put him on probation. I tell them that he tried tunneling out (by digging in her potted plants) and he tried climbing the wall (climbing up her furniture).”

She went on to explain that one of the things she tries to teach the men is the importance of empathy and compassion, something that sometimes is hard for many of them to fully embrace. But since rescuing Kappone and relating his experiences to them she finds it seems to open up a door for the men to respond to her and each other.

“These are some tough guys,” she says. “Many are doing life without parole, but once they really get the idea of empathy and compassion, it’s amazing. I’ve always tried to incorporate stories about my dogs. Because many of these guys are dealing with grief and loss and often one of the first losses they experienced was the death of a pet.”

Amundson says she has been amazed at the response from both offenders and staff alike.

“He’s become the mascot of the prison,” she said with a smile. “Everyone loves hearing about his antics and it’s almost like they’re part owners of him too.”

One of the offenders in particular - who works as a tutor - asks for daily updates on Kappone the Konvict, and it’s not unusual for the men to offer their own pet advice once they hear about Kappone’s story.

When Amundson first took Kappone home he was so tiny and starved that Amundson had to nurse him back to health. But in just four months he already weighs 12 pounds and loves to play with her dogs.

“One thing he likes to do is rear up on his back legs and pounce on the back of one the dogs like a WWF fighter,” she said.

While she hasn’t brought Kappone back to the prison, she regularly posts photos of him to her computer so that everyone can see the progress he is making.

It’s been said that animals have a way of helping people and even though Kappone is not physically present at the prison, the mere fact that he began his new life within prison walls has opened up doors of communication that have helped Amundson in her job.

“Kappone came to me for a reason,” she says and while she says she’s not exactly sure what that reason is, it seems clear that retelling Kappone’s story has helped to “serve as a buffer in the classroom. By sharing these stories, it brings them a sense of home life. Most of the offenders have tough life stories filled with pain and any diversion from the pain is good,” she acknowledges.