UPP Blog Court Therapy Dogs

When youngsters are summoned to juvenile court, it’s a pretty sure bet their hearts aren’t joyful. For many, a court appearance is a new and intimidating experience, while for others it’s become routine. However, one common denominator that’s been observed, regardless of whether the young person appears disinterested or fearful is their reaction when they see a therapy dog in the courtroom. “The dog makes the child feel special and cared about because it is there just for them,” says Utah Pet Partners court volunteer Paulette Bennett, “and then a tail starts to wag as the dog senses the connection.”

Miss Sophie (handler Paulette)

Therapy dogs are provided in response to a judge’s request, typically for individual cases where a child needs additional support. “In order to avoid potential problems associated with juries, our court therapy dog teams are present only for bench hearings and trials,” says Utah Pet Partners (UPP) Director Deb Carr. “Our handlers and leaders meet with interested judges before the program starts in a particular district to make sure everyone understands the limitations, policies and procedures.” Each district is asked to write up its own policies and procedures, usually using Pet Partners policies and procedures as a template. UPP provides the court volunteer teams with additional instructions and resources regarding self-care and the prevention of secondary trauma in their work.​

​Led by our Northern Utah Area Coordinator Vickie King and a court liaison, UPP originally began volunteering in 2nd District Court. Influenced by the learning, success, and benefits within that district, UPP Volunteer and Team Evaluator Dion Dostaler headed up a court therapy dog program in 1st District Court, which involves volunteer teams near the Logan, Utah, area.

Bert (Handler Vickie)

​Learning from the experiences in 1st and 2nd District courts, UPP Volunteer Linda Webster worked diligently to help open the doors for therapy dogs in 3rd District courtrooms. Webster, who previously had a career in healthcare, became a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) in June 2015. She served as a CASA for two years to understand the juvenile court system before she ever presented the court therapy dog program to a judge. Then in June 2018, Utah Pet Partners leaders including Webster, presented at the Utah State Conference of Guardians Ad Litem and CASA volunteers, spreading more awareness about the benefits of court therapy dogs, and the program has continued to grow since then. Currently, under the coordination efforts of UPP Board Member Attorney Laura Cabanilla, our court volunteer efforts are expanding to 4th District court as well.

Lucy (Handler Linda)

​Webster, who volunteers in the court system with her therapy pitbull Lucy, has personally mentored the growing number of Utah Pet Partners teams that volunteer in the 3rd and 4th District courts, which are currently ten teams. During her first court experience with therapy dog Lucy, Webster said the child faced the corner and didn’t want anyone close. After taking one look at Lucy and then having an opportunity to play ball with her outside the courtroom, he hugged Lucy and was much more open to talking. In another instance, a mother spoke of her son that graduated from the juvenile court program and said, “I don’t think we’d have done it without you, because he didn’t want to go to court, but he did want to see Lucy.”

Matt (handler Vickie)

Most often, the therapy dog is able to spend time with the child before they go into a court session, which gives them a few minutes to bond. When the case begins, the dog enters the courtroom with the child and typically sits on the floor in front of or next to the child. It’s not unusual for the therapy dog to place his or her head in a child’s lap, helping the child to relax and feel supported. Often the court therapy dogs are also an icebreaker for the whole courtroom. “Most everyone is delighted to have the four-legged ambassador there.” says UPP Northern Area Coordinator Vickie King. “We are always greeted by the judges, and you’ll often hear the judge talk to the child about the dog next to them. It truly calms the room.” UPP volunteer Paulette Bennett adds, “Courtroom staff seem far more warm and approachable as they join in petting and talking to the dog.” Court therapy dog Tuggy is a bull dog mix whose gray fur and huge, floppy jowls bear a loving resemblance to a furry walrus. "The Velveteen Legal Advocate Walrus spent his morning with two very special boys in court. They were enveloped in his therapeutic blubberfall, which emits a love so calm and pure, it's felt throughout the large judicial enclosure,” said his handler Melissa Lipani. “Today's visit is why he wanted to become a therapeutic walrus, and he loves his job.”

​Most assuredly, courtroom therapy dogs have proven to be a win-win situation for clients, visitors, and staff… and perhaps for the dogs, too.

Tuggy (handler Melissa)