It is now becoming common knowledge that animals can help people, young and old, to cope with stressful or difficult situations. Dogs are particularly well-known for this and there are therapy dogs for nearly every situation you can imagine, from hyperactive disorders to suffering from seizures to overcoming PTSD. One type of therapy dog is actually there to assist children while testifying against their abusers in court, helping them feel safe.
Dog in Court
Even adults struggle with testifying in court, especially when sitting face to face with someone who wronged them, so imagine how much more of an ordeal that can be for a young child. A little girl was designated to take the stand and testify against a man who had abused her.
Dog in Court
Unable to Move
The moment the little girl saw the man who had wronged her, she was unable to move, she froze. No one could blame her for being so afraid, but it was crucial she testify in the trial. And this is where Karl the hero comes into the picture. The little girl gave the dog a sign, and he was there for her.
Unable to Move
Enter Karl
Karl is not your average dog, in fact, you may even say that he is one of a kind! Weighing 65 pounds, 5 years old, a white Boxer, and a hero to so many children. Karl is part of a program called Companions for Courage, a special K9th-circuit dog, which allows him to appear in court to help give support to children when they take the stand.
Enter Karl
K9th Circuit Program
These unique dogs provide the children who are testifying with a sense of calm and a feeling of protection in the courtroom. More and more courtrooms around the United States are starting to recognize the need for trauma-sensitive courtrooms. The K9th Circuit program is the first in Florida that combines pet therapy and certified ADA dogs in order to assist children in testifying in courtrooms. As a therapy dog, Karl had one thing which differentiates him from the other dogs in his unit, and although it may have seemed like a shortcoming, in Karl’s case it is actually an advantage.
K9th Circuit Program
Bella
Karl has quite a few friends who, like him, have the same job in helping children testify in court. They all love being there for the children when they need them! Let’s introduce you to some of them! Say hello to Bella. She is a Doberman Pinscher, and is very sweet natured, calm and loyal, and absolutely loves getting (and giving!) pets and cuddles.
Bella
Boomer
Next up, say hello to Boomer! Boomer is a mix between a Sheltie and Poodle, and was a therapy dog for a long time before he joined K9. Boomer is one of the harder workers – he also assisted in adult education classes for people interested in qualifying their dog for voluntary therapy work.
Boomer
Daisy-Mai
Daisy-Mai, a pedigree Pomeranian, has been a registered therapy dog since 2011. She is an active member of the Pet Therapy teams in both the Arnold Palmer Hospital and the Nemours Children’s Hospital, both in Orlando. She visits patients at the facilities, helping them feel better. She did over 100 pet therapy visits, receiving the title of “Advanced Therapy Dog” from the American Kennel Club!
Daisy Mai
Kenai
Let me introduce you to Kenai, a rescued American Akita, who had some rough times as a puppy. Thankfully, however, he pulled through and is now a gentle giant who is friendly with everyone and loves getting belly rubs!
Kenai
Tilly
This is Tilly, which is actually short for Matilda which means ‘mighty in battle’. Her name suits her because she was abandoned as a puppy and got very sick, but thankfully she was rescued by good people who nursed her back to health. Now she is a hero herself, helping others be brave in the face of trouble.
Tilley
Essie
Now meet Essie. A rescued mixed breed, born in 2012. She has a lot of love for everyone she meets, and really enjoys working as a therapy dog, especially helping her community through Companions for Courage.
Essie
Maverick
Born in 2014, a Golden-Doodle, Maverick loves to run and play, as well as getting hugs and pets from all the young and old he meets through his job as a certified therapy dog on his visits to schools and nursing homes.
Maverick
Jackson
Let me introduce you now to Jackson, a mixed breed of Golden Retriever and Black Labrador. Born in 2008, Jackson loves to play fetch and swim in the sea, and riding in the car is one of his favorite things too. He is a READ (Reading Education Assistance Dog) dog, working with children’s reading programs.
Jackson
Emma
Emma, a Boxer, was born into the Therapy Dog community. She has special needs herself but that doesn’t stop her! Her first job as a therapy dog was when she was only four months old, when she was assigned to fulfill the last request of a hospice patient. The request was for a dog to lay in his arms, while he lay in the hospice. Emma did a perfect job, and ever since then, she has been providing love and company for all those who need it.
Emma
Sophia
Meet Sophia, this sweet and gentle Boxer, who was rescued in 2015 and ever since she has been a therapy dog, visiting both seniors and children. She loves her job as she gets lots of cuddles and has lots of friends to play with. Now let’s get back to Karl to see how he helped that little girl in court.
Sophia
A Disadvantage for an Advantage
So actually, Karl is in fact deaf. He was born deaf and due to this fact, his breeder wanted to put him down as he didn’t think he had any use for him. But thankfully, Joanne Hart-Rittenhouse was called in to rescue him, and thank goodness for that, because actually, his deafness is an asset to Karl in his role in the courtroom. There are many distracting noises for a dog in a courtroom that he would have to have learned to ignore, such as a general buzz of chatter, the banging gavel, sobs, and so on. But due to his deafness, Karl is oblivious to all the sounds around him and is more able to focus on the task at hand.
A Disadvantage for an Advantage
Chilled Karl
Karl is very popular with children because he is super chilled, and has a calm manner, as well as being a big dog which helps make them feel protected and safe. Karl also wears a blue cap in court which gives him a relatable and funny look which helps the children feel calm. Lauren Brimmer, a K9th-Circuit program manager compared Karl to a biker; saying that kids want the biggest one they can find to make them feel safe. For one little girl, Karl was a game-changer.
Chilled Karl
Innovative Training
Due to his deafness, training Karl involved quite a lot of challenges. Before she adopted Karl, Joanne already had 3 Boxers that she had trained as therapy dogs, however, she had never trained a deaf dog before. As they cannot hear the commands given to them, deaf dogs need a different kind of training involving a lot of eye contact, which as you can imagine, can be quite tricky with an excitable puppy. So, Joanne had to be creative and think of an innovative way to train Karl as a Therapy Dog.
Innovative Training
Overcoming Obstacles
With the help of her behaviorist friend, Joanne successfully taught Karl to follow signing commands, and he was trained to communicate with American Sign Language. He learned quickly, responding to the commands that his trainers signed to him. Joanne said “Karl learned 10 signs, and then he learned 10 more, and now he’s up over 100 signs”, demonstrating just how smart he is and amazing them all. Once Karl understood the commands from his trainers’, he began to excel.
Overcoming Obstacles
Take a Moment
Although Karl has special needs, his deafness doesn’t stand in his way and he enjoys his life and his work as a therapy dog. He brings love and joy to everyone he comes into contact with; be they old or young, and is a perfect example of why people shouldn’t give up on dogs with special needs. His inability to hear actually works to his advantage, making him a wonderful court companion. Karl himself doesn’t know that he has an inability because that was just the way he was born, and when he is outside he loves to stop and smell the flowers and look at birds, a keen reminder to us all to slow down and stop and smell the roses as they say.
Take a Moment
An Assisting Paw
The K9th Circuit Therapy Dogs are there to “help make the sad things seem not so bad”. They are there to help give courage to the child who has to get up on the stand and give their testimony, and assist in making the process slightly easier.
An Assisting Paw
A Tough Start
There are things that a child should never have to cope with, but unfortunately, they do. Joanne explains the situation, saying the little girl “knew the gentleman who had wronged her was going to be in that courtroom, and she really had a fear to go in front of him and tell him what he did to her”. And that is why Karl was there to help her feel safer. While this was the case, there were a number of things Karl had to overcome first when he began his job as a K9.
A Tough Start
Sign Language
A problem for Karl in his work with children was that most of the kids he would work with did not know sign language, which was key for their communication with each other. The children needed to learn Karl’s signals in order to communicate with him. With the children already being under stress due to the circumstances, this task was not an easy one. Joanne had to be innovative yet again.
Sign Language
Hand Signal
Joanne came up with a solution for the problem; a simple hand signal that she could teach to Karl and to the children that would enable them to communicate with Karl. This also had the added effect of giving the children the feeling that they had a secret code, just between them and Karl, creating an intimacy between the two. Karl slowly became quite famous in the Ninth Circuit Court of Florida, becoming known as the hero that saved the day, and with one girl in particular.
Hand Signal
Stunned
Assistant State Attorney, Beth Crumpler, told us that the use of therapy and companion animals in criminal law cases is becoming very much encouraged, and even more so with younger victims who need someone to hold on to when testifying. One little girl turned to Joanne before entering the courtroom to ask her a question which stunned everyone.
Stunned
Protection
The little girl turned to Joanne with the question, “Is Karl going to protect me?”. Her case was not an easy one, to say the least. She had been wronged by the man on trial, and as a result was distrustful of the world around her. She had to face a frightening experience, on top of going through two depositions and a trial, she had to tell the court what the man did to her while he was sitting just a few feet away. Karl was able to comfort her and keep her calm through the traumatic experience, doing something amazing for her.
Protection
Nerves
Karl sat with the little girl all through the preparation sessions and depositions, allowing her to feel brave enough to speak up even though she was scared. But, of course, the trial would be the most challenging part for her. When she entered the courtroom, she froze. She was terrified facing that awful man. But she then remembered her companion and protector, Karl. She quickly signed to him.
Nerves
Karl to the Rescue
Karl immediately responded to the little girl’s signal and came close to sit by her. His big muscular build made her feel safe and she calmed down. Joanne said, “Because she couldn’t really reach down to pet him, she kicked her shoes off and ran her toes through his fur and knew that he was there if she needed him”.
Karl to the Rescue
Karl Care
Once Karl was by her side, the little girl gave her testimony and incredibly made it through the whole things without any obstacles. All the time dedicated to prepping had definitely paid off.
Karl Care
Companions for Courage
As you might expect, Karl’s story spread quickly all across the world, reaching millions of people, via social media and news, Karl became a hero as he made his mark on society and everyone adored him. His story being spread also helped raise awareness for the programs he participates in, especially Companions for Courage which received a lot of attention. Due to this attention and media coverage, more children and their families now know of the opportunity of having a hairy protector at their side when they have to take the stand in court. Even when the whole judicial ordeal is over, Karl is still there to help the children.
Companions for Courage
The Aftermath
Once the trial is over, Karl doesn’t disappear from the children lives and continues to support them for however long they need. The children can book a visit with Karl to help them transition through the processes of their ordeal. Joanne said, “We’ll be there as long as the child wants Karl to stay in their life. He’s helped a lot of children”. It is not only the children themselves that Karl helps while in court, but his presence also tends to keep a relaxed atmosphere in the courtroom.
The Aftermath
A Hero
Karl just goes about with his life and job, entirely unaware that he is such a hero to so many children and their parents. Karl is quite a busy dog though! He is a regular visitor at children’s libraries, a hospice center, and even has his very own coloring book which teaches the values of caring for animals. “Karl’s a great courtroom dog because he tells no secrets,” Joanne said. “He is a hero, no two ways about it.”
A Hero
The Ruling
With huge thanks to Karl, the little girl succeeded in giving her testimony without any glitches. Her testimony was key to the case, and it led to a conviction, and the man was put behind bars where he wouldn’t be able to hurt her or anyone else again. This victory was in a large part thanks to a deaf dog that goes by the name of Karl.
The Ruling