NEWS

Facility dog lifts spirits of more than just children

Sara Nealeigh
Reporter

CHILLICOTHE – When families and children walk in the front doors of the Child Protection Center of Ross County, they are likely to be greeted with a smile and a wagging tail.

On Thursday afternoon, the center held an open house to welcome the newest member of its staff, PJ, a 2-year-old Labrador.

“She’s been trained to work with people in wheelchairs and people with disabilities. ... But our goal is to utilize her in court proceedings and advocacy roles for traumatized children,” said Julie Oates, executive director of the CPC.

Right now, PJ is approved by county prosecutors to work only on cases based in Ross and Fayette counties. As of yet, she does not have permission to appear in courtrooms, but that is a goal of facility dog handler and child abuse specialist Ashley Muse is working on.

If children testify or are asked to appear in court, Muse said, they are allowed to bring in a “comfort item,” like a blanket or stuffed animal, to hold during the proceedings.

The goal that Muse and the CPC are working toward is getting permission from judges and county prosecutors to allow PJ to be present, along with Muse, in the courtroom and act as the child’s comfort item by lying at the feet of the child during the hearing.

“We’re taking it in stride and asking lots of questions. ... If I get told no, I say OK for now. But I’ll look back into it later,” Muse said.

But the children are not the only ones that reap the benefits of having a dog in the office. Oates said even the adult staff members have noticed a change in morale since PJ’s arrival in mid-May.

“Day in and day out, working with yucky situations can weigh a person down, and there’s nothing like having an animal to kind of decompress. We get to be children again,” Oates said.

In the office, PJ’s biggest role in the office is to make sure the children that are being interviewed are comfortable. She will greet families at the door, escort children to and from interviews, and be instructed to sit on couches or lie on the floor at the feet of the children during the interview process.

“In this room, it was so hard before PJ. ... She sleeps for most of the time but makes kids feel more comfortable,” Muse said.

The idea to bring a facility dog to the CPC came to Muse after she saw a presentation on courthouse dogs at a conference. Muse went on a site visit to see how the dogs were used and said “I’m doing this.”

After a lengthy application process that included two interviews, Muse said the CPC’s wait to receive PJ was a little longer than a year. Muse attended facility dog training sessions, and she and PJ graduated from training in May.

PJ’s first day on the job was May 15.