Ellen O'Neill Stephens and Celeste Walsen of Courthouse Dogs Believe Dogs in Courtrooms Can Comfort Witnesses Courthouse Dogs Are Trained Specifically for the Job a Process That Can Take Over Two Years Courthouse Dogs Was Founded in 2004 and Presently Employs 87 Dogs Working in 28 States Here's the S Tory Ellen and Celeste Told Testifying in Court Can Be a Traumatic Event Courthouse Dogs Strives to Make This Ordeal Bearable When a Person Is Reliving a Traumatic Event They Experience Physiological Reactions Similar to What They Had When the Event Was Taking Place These Dogs Should Be Available to Any Vulnerable Witness That Would Have Difficulty Talking About What Happened Victim or Family That Could Be an Adult Rape Member Whos Child Has Been Murdered and Have to Testify in Court This Adversarial System of Testifying in Front of Your Attacker Is Brutal We Count on Dogs to Tell Us When There's a Bad Guy Around Wjhen We're in the Presence of a Relaxed Dog It Makes Us Feel That We're in a Safe Place This Can Lower Our Blood Pressure and Reduce Anxiety “I Used to Think I Was Supposed to Make the Witnesses Squirm but Now I'm Telling Judges That Technique Doesn't Work Lolzandtrollz These Courthouse Dogs Are Trained to Comfort Witnesses in Courtrooms