Dogs have their day.. in court
Trained dogs provide therapy to help children testify in court
THE Teddy Bear Foundation in collaboration with The Top Dogs organisation has created a smart initiative to assist children to deal with trauma. The unconventional method makes use of trained dogs to help abused children in preparation before testifying in court and to assist in healing them from the trauma of abuse.
The Innovative Canine Assisted Therapy Programme is an addition to the organisation’s acclaimed Court Preparation Programme, which assists victims to overcome their fears and prepares them to testify in court against their perpetrators.
The foundation, known as the Teddy Bear Clinic, works predominately with children who are victims of abuse. The foundation’s main goal is to prevent abuse and provide efficient and professional services, promoting healing for abused children.
“The foundation is constantly developing and experimenting with methods that would best suit victims to deal with trauma and further rehabilitate them,” the Teddy Bear Clinic’s clinical director, Shaheeda Omar, said.
The partnership began in 2015 when Conor Hughes, a representative of Top Dog, made contact with the Teddy Bear Clinic. Hughes expressed his desire to provide the dogs as a calming or therapeutic agent for children. The original idea was to allow children to overcome their fears and to build a foundation of trust with the dogs. The initial experiment was successful. They then explored additional methods to assist. Dog handlers were given special training to assist with the psychology and needs of the children.
Together the two foundations created a programme designed to meet the needs of the children in preparation for court. This moved to the implementation of the Court Preparation Programme.
During this programme, the furry fourlegged friends are placed in different roles and in different settings – courtroom dogs are dressed in uniforms. This sort of therapy is a first of its kind in South Africa.
“Overcoming their fears of dogs by understanding that not all dogs bite, helps them to understand that equally not all adults are going to hurt them. This breaks down the misconceptions and focuses on the issues of trust.” Omar said.
Omar added that the thought of children seeing their perpetrator face-to-face as well as the fear of the unknown creeps into children’s lives, “This creates further trauma which often renders them powerless in helping to bring abusers to justice.”
Currently the programme is operating around Johannesburg and there are plans for it to come to Cape Town. –