EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — A dog named Buddy has an important job at the El Paso District Attorney\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n
The small therapy dog works as a victim assistance companion alongside his handler, Lorena Garcia, helping crime victims through some of the hardest moments of their lives.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of times victims come for trials here in our office with the attorneys,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cAnd I take Buddy in the room, and immediately you can see a smile.\u201d<\/p>\n
Garcia said Buddy\u2019s presence helps ease tension for victims meeting with prosecutors.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven though they\u2019re going through such a hard time coming here and talking to the prosecutors, as soon as they see Buddy walking in, you can see a smile,\u201d she said. \u201cThey start playing with him and interacting with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Buddy has his own work station at the office and regularly visits attorneys, paralegals and staff throughout the building.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s so loved,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cWe tour the whole second floor. I think Buddy\u2019s providing more emotional support to all of you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Buddy also served during emotional victim impact statements connected to the Aug. 3 mass shooting in El Paso.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was hard,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cHe was in that courtroom many, many hours. By himself, he was getting close to the people that he felt needed him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Garcia said Buddy is uniquely suited for the role because he was once the victim of abuse himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cHim being a victim of abuse and then becoming a comfort dog, a therapy dog for victims of crime \u2014 I think that\u2019s really awesome,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Garcia first saw Buddy on television in 2020.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe saw a picture of him hanging from an iron with a very short leash on top of a box,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
El Paso Animal Services rescued Buddy and partnered with local nonprofit Laws N Paws to help rehabilitate him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Buddy was taken in, he was hospitalized for an extensive amount of time,\u201d Laws N Paws volunteer Jasmine Gallardo said. \u201cHe was able to receive procedures and any type of treatment needed for him to heal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gallardo said Buddy\u2019s case began as neglect and escalated into abuse.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt some point he was out there for such an extensive amount of time that the owner should have realized what was happening,\u201d she said. \u201cThe owner was choosing to ignore it, which is where they were charged with animal abuse.\u201d<\/p>\n
Court records show Buddy\u2019s former owner, Lupe Amalia Rodriguez, was charged with cruelty to non-livestock animals. She was ordered to pay fines and served several days in jail.<\/p>\n
Garcia later delivered Buddy\u2019s victim impact statement in court.<\/p>\n
\u201cI stood and I spoke on his behalf,\u201d she said. \u201cFrom being abused by her at her house, now Buddy is a therapy dog at the district attorney\u2019s office.\u201d<\/p>\n
After completing rehabilitation through Laws N Paws, Buddy was recommended for therapy dog training after the DA\u2019s office reached out looking for a service animal.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was because of his demeanor and also his size,\u201d Gallardo said. \u201cHe is a smaller guy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Buddy passed his therapy dog exams and was officially sworn in at the DA’s office, with Garcia volunteering to become his handler.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel very honored and very happy to be here,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cI guess it was meant to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
Garcia said Buddy still struggles with some trauma.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe hears loud noises, he gets scared, and I just calm him down,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
But despite that, Buddy has become a success story.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s totally a success story,\u201d Garcia said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — A dog named Buddy has an important job at the El Paso District…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":375689,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[138,140,139],"class_list":["post-375688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-el-paso","tag-el-paso","tag-el-paso-headlines","tag-el-paso-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375688","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=375688"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375688\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/375689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=375688"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=375688"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=375688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}