For seven years, Wren — a 10-year-old yellow Labrador — has been working at the Zebra Child Protection Centre, a facility that supports children who have suffered physical or sexual abuse as a case moves through the court system.
In 2015, Wren made history as she sat alongside a teenager taking the stand to testify against her alleged abuser. It was the first time a judge in Edmonton had granted an application for a support dog to sit inside a courtroom.
In court, there are strict rules barring any contact between a child and a support worker who may sit beside them on the stand. The legal concern is that contact from the support person could sway the child's testimony.
"When we have support people on the stand, we can't talk to that child or touch them or comfort them in any way but the dogs can."
And to keep whatever (strong) feelings at bay that might try getting control over you while being in the same space with an abuser.
To act like a grown up, as a child, who has barely started developing the same tools to deal and talk about what happened than an adult.
Seems harsh.
Good to have the dog.