The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Prosecutor welcomes four-legged helper
Farley, a 2-year-old yellow Labrador, is the office’s first facility dog.
The Lorain County Prosecutor’s Office has added its newest and fuzziest team member.
Farley, a 2-year-old yellow Labrador, is the office’s first facility dog.
He came to live with Registered Advocate Anne Marie Victor on Sept. 19 and started his first day in the office the following day.
Lorain County Prosecutor Dennis Will said the idea to get the pooch stemmed from an Ohio Prosecuting Attorney Association meeting three or four years ago.
“A few people were talking about getting a dog, so I listened to what they had to say, and eventually Summit County got a dog,” Will said.
Victor had shown interest in the idea and done some research and told Will she’d like to be the handler if Will chose to get one, he said.
During the intervening years, Will said he watched how larger counties implemented
their facility dog programs to see how it played with judges.
“We did a lot of research on it,” he said. “Here in the Ninth District, there’s case law from the Ninth District Court of Appeals that allows a dog to go into the courtroom.”
The dog is another tool to aid the victims of crime, Will said.
“People come to the system, they know little or nothing about it, they’re victimized once already,” he said. “A lot of time, it’s the type of a crime that causes them to be very apprehensive about coming into the public and talking to people and, god forbid, they have to actually testify.”
Will described watching a video of Avery II, the facility dog in Summit County, which helped a young girl testify in court.
“The dog sat below eye level inside the witness box for almost two and a half hours while she testified,” he said. “(The dog) never moved, she had her feet on top of him, she did great testifying.
“And when she got up to leave, the dog went to the handler and walked out. They had no problems with it, and the little girl was absolutely comforted and reassured by the fact the dog was there.”
Farley was purchased from Freedom Paws, a nonprofit in Marysville.
Tera Jurrens, the operator of Freedom Paws, gets a lot of puppies donated to her, Victor said.
The Prosecutor’s Office had a choice between two dogs.
“The first one came out and I was like, ‘Oh, he’s good,’ but he was a little bit too in-your-face,” Victor said. “As soon as Farley came out, we knew he was exactly what we need.
“He was just very calm, very quiet.”
Throughout the interview, Farley slowly wandered around the room and occasionally stopped and allowed Will or Victor to touch him.
Victor said when she takes him home at night and takes off his red vest, he’s just like a normal pooch.
Will said Farley was purchased with $5,000 in grant funds and $9,000 from the Law Enforcement Trust Fund, that Will calls the “Bad Guys Endowment Fund,” which is made up of money seized from drug dealers and other criminals.
“No tax dollars had to go out and buy it,” he said.
Will said the plan to implement Farley begins with getting the members of his team acclimated, then make the various courtrooms and judges familiar with the dog.
After that, Farley will become a regular part of their victim witness program.
Will said Farley can be used in any court, including juvenile.
He added that if any municipal courts thought Farley would benefit them, the Prosecutor’s Office would explore the option.
Farley already has been out and about the town having visited the Apple Festival last weekend and meeting the Rotary Club earlier in the day.
But he’ll make his first court appearance Oct. 1 during Lorain County Probate Judge James T. Walther’s Veterans Treatment Court.
Walther said he had been looking into getting a facility dog for his court.
“There is a lot of literature out there that they are a calming influence in the courtroom,” he said. “And a lot of times, especially in the Veterans Treatment Court, when I have to issue sanctions and talk about some tough issues, it can get very emotional in the courtroom.
“We just decided to allow Farley to come on Monday and see how it goes, introduce him to some of the vets. I’m looking forward to it.”