Dog in New York Court Takes the Witness Stand

Christina Ng ABC News 06/29/2011 18:25

A Golden Retriver named Rose is the first dog to sit on the witness stand in court in New York State. (Courtesy Dale Picard)

It was a tense moment in a Poughkeepsie courtroom when a 15-year-old girl who had been the victim of sexual abuse for four years was asked to point out the man who had violated her. The girl seemed to freeze. Then a furry snout and wet brown nose came up over the stand and nudged her arm. The girl's demeanor changed and she was able to point out the man in the courtroom and continue with her testimony. The man was found guilty and is facing 25 years to life in prison.

The snout that helped the girl overcome the difficult moment on June 13 belongs to Rose, affectionately called Rosie, an 11-year-old golden retriever service dog whose specialty is comforting people.

This is the first time in New York State that a service dog has sat on the witness stand during a trial.

"My heart was in my throat," said Sherry Cookinham the unit supervisor for the Children's Home in Poughkeepsie that has been helping the teenage girl. "I knew at that moment that Rosie was doing her job and the little girl was going to be okay."

The Children's Home had heard about court dogs being used in other states and thought that it could be perfect in this sensitive case and began exploring their options. One of the people they reached out to was Dale Picard, who co-founded an organization called ECAD, Educated Canines Assisting with Disabilities, with his wife Lu. ECAD is a non-profit organization in New York and Connecticut that teaches troubled teenagers who attend alternative high schools how to train the dogs.

The process helps the teens with discipline and responsibility while training service dogs. They have trained over 200 dogs that have gone on to work in a dozen states.