Dog helps molested twins to testify against dad

LOS ANGELES (AP):

The twins were seven, shy and scared. Talking was tough and describing what happened nearly impossible.

So the prosecutor preparing them to testify against the father they said molested them borrowed a dog named Jeeter.

"It was a last ditch effort to try to build rapport with my kids, who are terribly shy," said Kelly Dempsey, the twins' mother. "The prosecutor had no idea how to get through to them. ... He just believed down to the depths of his soul the girls had been wronged and he wanted so badly to find justice for them."

In Seattle 10 years ago, Jeeter became the first professionally trained dog to help a child testify, experts said. Dogs have been used with thousands of victims and witnesses since.

COURT CHALLENGES

Today, there are 41 courthouse dogs working in 19 states and several more being considered, but some challenges are working their way through the courts, driven by attorneys who claim the dogs are distractions or sympathy magnets. So far, all lower courts have upheld the use of dogs.

In 2003, Jeeter was going to drug court once a week with King County deputy prosecutor Ellen O'Neill-Stephens. The rest of the week, Jeeter belonged to her son Sean, 21, who has cerebral palsy.

When her colleague asked to borrow Jeeter for the twins, the bonding was instant.

"Because of Jeeter and having him there, I don't ever think about 'Oh, it was scary walking in and seeing our dad after a while,'" said Erin, now a high-school sophomore. "I don't remember the bad, I only remember Jeeter. I think we escaped so much more normal than really we should have from such a bad situation because of Jeeter."

The AP normally doesn't use names or photos of molestation victims, but the girls are allowing their first names and photos to be used because they want dogs to be available in courts. Their mother has a different last name.

Full Caption: In this photo taken on Monday, May 13, courthouse dog Kiley stretches as she stands. Linda Avila (left) a witness in a homicide case, and handler Michelle Walker, Justice Services manager, in a hallway at the Pierce County Courthouse in Tacoma, Washington. As canine companions in courthouses, dogs have helped thousands of victims and witnesses, but some challenges are working their way through the courts, driven by attorneys who claim the dogs are distractions or sympathy magnets. So far, all lower courts have upheld the use of dogs. - AP