Courthouse Dogs

05/11/22 • 11 min

1 Listener

Courtrooms can be terrifying - for everyone. They are literally a place of judgment. And many people have to get up in front of other people and share intimate, horrific details. It’s like walking around without your skin on. Some of the most afraid are children who are witnesses to crimes or conflict and who then are asked to testify about those experiences in a courtroom. How do we help everyone be less afraid?

One brilliant solution in the early 2000s was to bring in creatures who bring comfort and whose immediate impact is to reduce anxiety. Since then, courts across the country are inviting “courthouse facility dogs” to accompany witnesses to the stand to help calm them and make the whole process easier. They lie quietly in the witness box and give their supportive presence as the witness shares their difficult story with the court, judge and jury.

Sources

New courthouse pup will be 1st of its kind in Maine

Houlton Courthouse dog is a gentle giant

Courthouse facility dog - Wikipedia

Canines Helping Out in the Courtroom | The Pew Charitable Trusts

Courthouse Canines: Therapy Dogs Take the Stand

Facility Dogs/Courthouse Support Dogs | Animal Legal & Historical Center

Sources

New courthouse pup will be 1st of its kind in Maine

Houlton Courthouse dog is a gentle giant

Courthouse facility dog - Wikipedia

Canines Helping Out in the Courtroom | The Pew Charitable Trusts

Courthouse Canines: Therapy Dogs Take the Stand

Facility Dogs/Courthouse Support Dogs | Animal Legal & Historical Center

Previous Episode

Figo, The Golden Service Dog

1 Recommendations

On a Monday morning in June, Figo (age 8) and Audrey (age 62) were out for their daily walk in Brewster, New York when something crazy happened. They’d just stepped out into the street to cross when a small school bus carrying a driver and two kindergarten students approached. The bus wasn’t moving very fast at all but it also wasn’t stopping.

The driver of the bus didn’t see them. But, Figo saw the bus coming and knew he had to do his job of protecting his vision impaired human. Figo actually leaped into action, moving from Audrey’s right side to her left to take the full impact of the bus. He literally threw himself into the path of the bus to shield his blind owner.

Sources

https://www.lohud.com/story/news/2015/12/09/six-things-we-learned-from-figo-aspca-dog-of-the-year/76936542/

https://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/putnam/2015/06/08/guide-dog-leaps-front-oncoming-bus/28702995/

New York Dog Lunges in Front of Bus, Saves Blind Owner's Life - ABC News

https://www.pethealthnetwork.com/news-blogs/a-vets-life/service-dog-stands-between-blind-guardian-and-bus

Next Episode

Seaman - The Lewis & Clark Dog

1 Recommendations

We meet one of the most famous dogs in American History - a Newfoundland named Seaman, who was one of the members of the famous Lewis and Clark expedition.

In 1803 President Thomas Jefferson selected Meriwether Lewis to lead what became known as the Lewis & Clark Expedition. That mission was to explore the Missouri River and waterways to the Pacific ocean in search of a water route across the continent. Captain Meriwether Lewis invited his buddy and colleague William Clark to join and share command of the group. That was a very important moment in American History.

What you might not know is that something else, equally important to the expedition happened in 1803. Meriwether Lewis purchased a Newfoundland dog and named him Seaman. In their journals, we learn about Seaman's adventures and perils on the Lewis & Clark Expedition.

Sources

Seaman (dog) - Wikipedia

Seaman - Gateway Arch National Park (US National Park Service)

Central Montana's 3 Famous Dogs

Seaman, Captain Meriwether's Dog of the Lewis and Clark Expedition