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Two four-legged best friends are making the court process in Winnipeg more comforting for victims of crime and their families. <\/p>\n
Four-legged Glossy spends a lot of her working days in a spacious room filled with vibrant toys, children’s books and leather couches.<\/p>\n
The child victim family room, tucked in a quiet corner on the fourth floor of Winnipeg’s law courts building, is a stark contrast to the cold marble and ornate, wooden fixtures that make up the rest of the building. It’s where Glossy comforts children going through the judicial system.<\/p>\n
The five-year-old Labrador retriever, with milk chocolate-coloured eyes and a shiny black coat to match her name, is one of two accredited facility dogs that support victims of crime or their families by lending a sympathetic paw.<\/p>\n
“It’s something that helps make them feel comfortable to come in and talk about some of the worst things that have probably ever happened, knowing that there’s going to be a little furry face to greet them,” said Carla Deeley, a victim services worker and Glossy’s handler.<\/p>\n
Glossy has been with the Manitoba Justice Victim Services team since July 2023. The province welcomed its first facility dog, Milan, in 2016. She retired in 2021.<\/p>\n
The dogs were bred, raised and trained by the British Columbia-based Pacific Assistance Dogs Society. The non-profit trains facility dogs to work with police, in the justice system or with teachers, as well as service dogs to provide support for people with mobility issues or post-traumatic stress disorder.<\/p>\n
Research has shown that assistance dogs can help reduce stress, anxiety and aggression and assist people who have trouble communicating, particularly children and those with disabilities.<\/p>\n
Deeley says she sees it every day: Glossy in a witness box helping a child testify or giving snuggles to create a safe space for someone to open up.<\/p>\n
“I had a young person who had selective mutism. So it took a couple meetings, but eventually they started talking. I don’t know if it would have been possible without [Glossy],” she said.<\/p>\n
As Glossy’s handler, Deeley spends most of her waking moments with the pup.<\/p>\n
The duo primarily work with children who have to testify in court, but they have been brought in to help with other cases.<\/p>\n
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Deeley, left, and Shaw talk with media in the child victim family room at the Winnipeg law courts, while Bagel (blonde) and Glossy (black) lounge. (John Woods\/The Canadian Press)<\/p>\n