Courthouse dogs play a crucial role in the cases they assist. The legal process can be stressful enough and depending on a person's role in the process, it can be emotionally overwhelming for some. This is where the mild-mannered highly trained courthouse dogs come in.
Think about a father facing his child's murderer or the 2014 case of three children removed from their home due to unspeakable acts of abuse they suffered. Imagine either of these families having to face the monsters; imagine their fear to sit in the same room, listen to the testimony and having to give their own. Unfortunately this is too common, says Upworthy.
Research shows that young sexual abuse victims become even more traumatized (considered amplified trauma) when they have to testify in court. Courthouse dogs can help settle and comfort these victims. Even help them remember details more clearly.
"When a person is reliving a traumatic event, they experience physiological reactions similar to what they had when the event was taking place," says Ellen O'Neill Stephens, a retired prosecutor who runs the nonprofit Courthouse Dogs.
"This adversarial system [of testifying in front of your attacker] is brutal," she adds. "A lot of people come out damaged by it."
"Ellie, the first dog to do this type of work was placed at the King County Prosecutor's Office in 2004," says Stephens, according to Bored Panda, "and she is still working there. Over the course of her career she has helped thousands of people."
Watch the video to see the real work they do and their instrumental role in the process.
Don't call these dogs therapy dogs either! These dogs are raised for this job from the beginning, says Little Things. It takes two years of training to make a courthouse dog, which is the elite, Navy SEAL of the dog world. Currently Stephens and courthouse dogs partner Celeste Walsen have 87 dogs in 28 states, with hopes of more worldwide, as they are already in Chile and Canada too.
