A nontraditional program is spreading in popularity as it has proving to be a successful program over and over again. The program involves using specially trained therapy dogs to help children testify.
Going through the legal system and testifying can be paralyzing to an already traumatized 
victim. It is very common for children involved in abuse cases to have trouble with standing up and talking in front of a courtroom of people. In some cases the victim completely breaks down and is unable to testify. In many of these legal cases, the guilty party goes free because the prosecutors need the testimony of the victim to make the charges stick.
The program involves the introduction of a therapy trained dog to be on hand in the court house. The dog will be available to the child beginning with the first meeting between the victim advocate, the family, the attorney and the child.
They place the child in what they call a safe room. The kids are interviewed here without the pressure of having grownups around. The kids are recorded and taped in the safe room. The presence of the dogs gives the kids the reassurance comfort to speak up and share their stories.
These therapy dogs are trained to assist people with disabilities, work in court room settings, and other working environments.
In some states the dogs are also allowed to be in the courtroom during the time the child has to testify. The presence of the dog enables the victim to focus the proximity of a warm loving body that is emitting a calm demeanor. This calm is contagious to the child and usually the dog relaxes the child enough to allow them to get through their story.
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