Work in the criminal justice system oftentimes takes a toll on everyone involved in cases because the outcomes don’t always result in the anticipated conclusions.
Levi the Support Dog, an undeniably cute beige Labrador Retriever, helps with relieving the stress of everyone inside the St. Louis County Justice Center at the St. Louis County Prosecutor’s Office.
“Of course, Levi is adorable, and you could say he functions as a mascot for the office,” St. Louis Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell said. “Victim and witness testimonies are essential in prosecuting a case, he helps comfort them and empower them to testify. He helps bring justice for victims, especially our youngest and most vulnerable ones.”
He was donated almost three years ago by Duo Dogs, a nonprofit organization dedicated to training dogs and connecting them to businesses and people at no cost. The prosecutor’s office is only responsible for Levi’s food and veterinary bills.
“Duo has found dogs can be a calming force, especially when it comes to children,” said Susanne Wandling, Duo Dogs’ director of canine services. “The dogs help keep the child calm, grounded and help keep stories of what happened to the child confidential.”
Lisa Jones, director of Victim Services in the prosecuting office and Levi’s handler said that a vast majority of the victims are African American. According to Jones, the kids are usually nervous because they’re having to reveal accounts stemming from sexual and domestic abuse.
“In the past, it was always easy to sit on the floor and color with them or talk about sports, but Levi breaks barriers just by walking in the room,” Jones said. “When the kids come in, they typically enter while we’re talking about the incident. They tend to pet him and not even realize they’re answering questions that would otherwise cause them a great deal of anxiety.
Jones has firsthand seen the impact Levi has on the kids when he sits in with them on depositions, their sworn-in testimony part of a pre-trial. One case where he was especially helpful was last year when a young lady was afraid to walk in the courtroom. She eventually overcame that fear with the help of Levi.
“She looked at me and said, ‘I don’t think I can do this, I can’t go in,’ I told her you know what you don’t have to, we can take as long as you need,” Jones said. “Once I consoled her and let her know that Levi was probably nervous too, she held his ear and told Levi we can do this. Then they walked in and she testified beautifully. She held onto his leash and reached down to pet him whenever she got nervous.”
Initially, Jones said defense attorneys thought the dog would make the victims sympathetic and serve as an influence on the jury in reaching a verdict. But in the end, it did the opposite and it didn’t make a direct impact on the decision-making process.
“In one case the suspect was found not guilty, but Levi’s presence didn’t unduly influence the jury,” Jones said. “They still evaluated the evidence based on what was given and not because a cute dog was sitting at this child’s feet.”
One thing Jones always tries to remember is how difficult it is for people to come in and tell their story in front of complete strangers. She always reminds herself and prosecutors that a victim’s reluctance to be part of the system has nothing to do with them or the system.
“We’re talking about inner-family crimes that are difficult and painful,” Jones said. “As much as we can prep people there’s no way we can take that trauma away from them and I think that’s the hard part. All we can do is teach them coping skills and I think Levi is one of those coping skills.”
Learn more about Duo Dogs at https://duodogs.org/.