Posted on 06/14/2011 4:07:12 PM PDT by Niuhuru
A 15-year-old girl had special help when she took the witness stand yesterday at the trial for the man accused of sexually assaulting her for four years.
Rose, an 11-year-old golden retriever whose regular job is helping provide therapy in schools for troubled children, was there at her side, helping to calm a child who experts said is otherwise incapable of talking about her traumatic ordeal.
It's an unprecedented arrangement in New York and now gaining acceptance elsewhere.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Guess we'll see what happens on appeal.
There's a lot of deference paid to child victim-witnesses, a friendly Golden may fall under that umbrella. But maybe not.
Man’s best friend is a good listener, and can keep a secret.
Good dog!
Best dog I ever had was a Golden and yellow Lab mix.
I spent 5 years being molested by my aunt’s husband.
Then, a stray Dobermann came into my life.
The molesting -stopped-.
That’s the good news.
The bad news is that now, both breeds are on the “breed ban lists”.
Good thing God set me that furry angel before the peta freaks existed or I’d probably be dead, now.
What a furry Angel God sent to you! You are so right.
Dobermans can be soooo sweet!
I was home alone crying one evening over the loss of my mom and my golden came over and looked at me square in the face with the most empathic and loving eyes and then put his head in my lap like he was hugging me.
He was the smartest, most loving dog I ever had or met. He was huge - weighed 115 pounds and he was not fat.
Ol’ Caesar was absolutely a total marshmallow, really and I seriously doubt he’d have actually ~done~ anything *but* he *looked* like he could.
God was good to me.
I’ve had Dobes ever since, mostly rescues.
I feel like I owe them.
*Very* lucky.
It’s not like there were herds of stray Dobes wandering my area, much less the odds of one picking *my* front porch to take up residence on.
God sent what He knew I needed.
I could bore you silly with tales of my rescue Dobes [and other sundry breeds] but I won’t...you already know most of the tales, yourself...:)
Since my parents did nothing about the uncle, it was up to the dog to keep me safe.
About a year or so later, a *good* uncle gave me another and I once again roamed the endless mountains, unconcerned about being harmed.
They gave me my childhood back.
I guess you could say I really *was* ‘raised by wolves’.
Lucky me...:D
Your wife is blessed, too.
Only a suicidal fool would try to break in.
Check these “furry angels” out:
http://www.bacausa.com/Internet/AboutBACA.php
They protect/go to court with abused kids, too.
[they’re a totally different kind of “watch dog”]
Damn I was thinking pitbull.
Because of their highly developed senses, dogs are totally in tune with their owners.
They can -literally- smell your sorrow or your joy.
I just read an article where somebody tried to disprove that [the “animals are just machines’ bunch] by having the dogs’ owners ‘fake having heart attacks’ in front of their dogs.
The dogs were unperturbed.
There are many accounts, however, of humans suffering some kind of health crisis and the dog reacting heroically to it.
They finally admitted that ‘fake heart attacks’ didn’t emit the same physical odors as real ones did and that the “proof” was invalid.
I don’t know why they even bothered.
There are seizure dogs, asthma dogs, hearing and seeing dogs and dogs who detect early stage cancer and other diseases by smell.
I guess they either just had an anti-dog agenda or liked the pile of grant money.
When I was a kid, I’d go running across the yard and then “drop dead” in front of my Dobes.
They’d just run over, pile on me and lick me silly.
Years later, the remaining Dobe was the only thing to witness my near-fatal horse accident and he saw me go down about 150 yards away from here he was standing in his kennel.
My gramma, who lived across the field from me, said from that second until I came out of a coma 11 days later, he stood with his nose poked out the chain link fence, watching the last place he’d seen me and mournfully, lowly *howled* almost non-stop.
She told me she knew before anybody had even called her, that I’d woken up and was okay because he suddenly *stopped* howling, left ~that~ west-facing side of the kennel and positioned himself at the kennel door which faces north, wagging his tail and whining.
Less than 2 hours after I woke up, I was home again and when I got out of the car, I went to him first and he was now jumping to the top of the 6’ kennel, in frenzied delight.
As soon as I opened the door, he barreled out, knocked me flat and nearly “kissed” me to death...:)
Dogs *know* and I’d bet money those court dogs can smell the fear in those poor kids.
What a kind way to “repay” God and to continue to alleviate needlesss suffering.
My Lola was a rescue...if you google “ Lola Canine” you will link to my Freeper memorial for her.
Labradors are sympathetic, but mostly in the jolly slapdash way of the big brother who tells you to cheer up and gives you a noogie by way of encouragement.
Your guardian angel sent that Dobe.
Golden and Lab mix?
That had to have been the perfect dog....but I am guessing and lot of hair fallout
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