{"id":378155,"date":"2025-12-30T22:54:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-30T22:54:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/378155\/"},"modified":"2025-12-30T22:54:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T22:54:11","slug":"courthouse-canines-help-ease-the-tension-one-tail-wag-at-a-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/378155\/","title":{"rendered":"Courthouse canines help ease the tension, one tail wag at a time"},"content":{"rendered":"

R.A. still remembers the weight of the witness box as she testified for seven days against the man who trafficked her as a teenager.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She was about 15 when she first met her pimp. By 19, she’d managed to get away and into recovery, and began rebuilding her life.\u00a0(CBC is not naming R.A. to protect her privacy.)<\/p>\n

Years later, in 2021, she gave a statement to police about her former pimp\u2019s ongoing activities trafficking young women. He was arrested the following year and put on trial in December 2023, the first time in seven years R.A. had seen him.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It was around then that she met Kaboom the greyhound, a courthouse therapy dog. R.A. said the animal’s gentle presence was more than a comfort: it was a lifeline during an emotionally punishing process.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s kind of grounding,” she said. “You have that little option to pet this dog, just reach out and know it\u2019s there, or feel its weight on your feet.”<\/p>\n

The trial felt long and tedious, and at times she was so frustrated by the defence lawyers that she felt like she “might snap.” But stepping out for a walk with Kaboom kept her steady until the day she saw her former abuser convicted.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"AKaboom the greyhound is a Just Paws therapy dog, assisting people at the Ottawa Courthouse who need emotional support during trying times. (Mathieu Deroy\/CBC)<\/p>\n

The therapy dogs and their volunteer handlers are from Just Paws, a support service working in schools, hospitals, care homes and the city\u2019s court system.<\/p>\n

They aim to help calm victims, witnesses and other participants in the court process, some of whom are experiencing the most difficult days of their lives.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Small team, big impact<\/p>\n

At the courthouse, the therapy dogs accompany victims and witnesses from their first meetings with prosecutors all the way through to trial, a process that can sometimes stretch over years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Handlers like Sylvia Nicholson bring their dogs into waiting areas, meeting rooms and sometimes right into the courtroom. <\/p>\n

Nicholson, a semi-retired veterinarian, started volunteering with Just Paws after she was in a major accident 12 years ago. She spent four and a half months recovering in hospital where she received the support of therapy animals.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Her own labradoodle Henry passed a strict three-hour exam to become certified for the courthouse. Only a handful of dogs are certified to sit in on trials.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"AHenry assists victims, witnesses and others at the Ottawa Courthouse. (Mathieu DeroyCBC)<\/p>\n

Nicholson says Henry’s effect on people is evident from the moment he arrives at the courthouse.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Most people \u2026 start smiling as soon as they see him,” she said. “It calms people down when they\u2019re very stressed, very nervous about testifying.”<\/p>\n

Youth mental health court is another regular stop. Handler Marie Nadeau brings her golden retriever Alys to sit with the young people, many of whom have never been inside a courtroom.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“They\u2019re stressed. They don\u2019t know what the judge is going to say,” Nadeau said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Alys will sit down beside them, nudge them or rest a paw on their leg.<\/p>\n

“It changes the mindset the child has,” Nadeau said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Unconditional love<\/p>\n

Some of the dogs also work at Ottawa\u2019s drug treatment court where participants appear weekly to discuss their progress. Here, the animals wander inside and outside the courtroom, comforting attendees.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Handler Nancy Truss has worked with therapy dogs for more than two decades. Her golden retriever Crush is known for wanting to be in constant human contact. In drug court, people often place a hand on the dog as they speak to the judge \u2014 a small gesture to soften an intimidating ritual.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"AA golden retriever volunteers with Just Paws at the Ottawa Courthouse. (Mathieu Deroy\/CBC)<\/p>\n

“The biggest thing was unconditional love,” said Truss. “The dogs don\u2019t care what you look like \u2014 they just want you to pet them and love them, and they love you right back.”<\/p>\n

For Michal Judge, a participant who has struggled with addiction for much of his life, the dogs help lighten the heaviness of a courtroom.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“It totally breaks down that feeling of heavy anxiety that the courtroom creates,” he said. “It brings everybody together, in a sense.”<\/p>\n

There \u2018when you need a friend\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n

Susan Howe, who brings her Gordon setter Woody to the courthouse, describes the service as a “bridge over troubled water” for many people at the courthouse.<\/p>\n

Witnesses can\u2019t touch their supporters while testifying, but they can reach down to pat the dog beside them \u2014 a small act of connection on what be the worst day of their life.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For those leading investigations, like Ottawa police Const. Alistair Donaghy, the benefit is clear: calmer witnesses mean clearer testimony.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Any way that we can lower the stress \u2026 is key,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As the holiday season arrives \u2014 a time when the atmosphere inside courts, care homes and hospitals can feel especially heavy \u2014 the handlers say they and their dogs will continue offering these moments of calm, comfort and connection.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“If you\u2019ve put a smile on someone\u2019s face, you\u2019ve done your job right,” Truss said.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"R.A. still remembers the weight of the witness box as she testified for seven days against the man…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":378156,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":{"0":"post-378155","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-news","11":"tag-top-stories","12":"tag-topnews","13":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=378155"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378155\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/378156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=378155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=378155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=378155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}