The newest staffers of the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office are calm, cool and cuddly!
In a partnership with the Newnan-based CAREing Paws, the DeKalb County DA’s Office now has seven Courthouse Therapy Dogs fully on duty to help crime victims and witnesses on their journeys through the criminal justice system. The dogs even have their own badges!
The dogs and their handlers were officially sworn in by DeKalb County Probate Judge Bedelia Hargrove on Tuesday, January 16, but have been making their presences felt for the past seven months. Last October, they started monthly “stress-buster” visits with the DA’s staff, allowing District Attorney Sherry Boston to see her goal of getting the courthouse therapy dogs pay off in multiple ways.
“While these visits may seem like a fun distraction in an office setting, we know they are incredibly therapeutic,” says Boston. “Working in the law enforcement space can be extremely taxing.”
Therapy dogs are trained to provide comfort and affection to people in hospice, disaster areas, retirement homes, hospitals, nursing homes, schools, courthouses, and more. Amanda Planchard, Director of Victim Services with the DA’s office, tells WSB the canines readily pick up on emotions.
October was also the first time for one of the therapy dog teams to help with a victim interview. Planchard says you can see the results right away in an atmosphere which has heightened people’s stress and anxiety, as the dogs help people relax and open up more freely.
“Sometimes trauma reminders happen, so just by thinking and talking about having this happen makes it hard to open up,” says Planchard. “So sometimes, a well-timed snuggle or the dog putting their head on their lap or something like that will immediately disarm them and help them to feel confident enough to talk about what happened to them.”
The dogs are of different breeds–from Labrador and Golden Retrievers to an Australian Shepherd to a miniature Schnauzer to a tiny Pomchi (a Pomeranian-Chihuahua cross-breed). No matter how big, though, Planchard says the dogs are not hyperactive and jumping up on people; they are much more likely to lie down and offer their bellies for rubs. There are handlers of different genders, as well, to give victims the option to choose with whom they’re most comfortable sitting in on their interviews.
The therapy dogs can also help offer support and distraction when witnesses are readying to testify in court, calming them down and ultimately helping them provide more accurate testimony.
CAREing Paws’s website notes not only is it difficult to be surrounded by strangers in such a setting, “walking into a courtroom can be daunting for any witness, particularly a child. A child’s fear of testifying publicly about private and embarrassing events can be intensified when having to see the defendant in the courtroom.”
A dog could even escort the witness to the stand, outside the presence of any jury.
The DA’s Office says the handlers have all undergone multiple background checks, and are required to adhere to confidentiality agreements.
Planchard recalls a recent interview with the young adult survivor of childhood sexual abuse. The survivor wanted a smaller dog nearby, to help her feel safe during a grueling interview. Planchard says the dog “literally sat in the chair next to her and put her head on the survivor’s lap while she was getting emotional, talking about what happened, and you could just see that immediately cause her to feel more safe and able to keep going in talking about it.”
Boston says the dogs have “helped us in ways we may never fully realize.”
In September 2021, Cobb County District Attorney Flynn Broady welcomed a three-year-old Labrador, Rose, to their office as a comfort dog for victims and staff.
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