Bannock County courthouse getting victim services dog
The Bannock County courthouse will soon welcome a new staff member.
Some might call him “man’s best friend.”
Tamela Manhart is “extremely excited” to meet her new partner. He’s young, handsome and good with kids.
He’s a two-year old black lab, known as a courthouse dog.
Bannock county is only the third county in the state of Idaho to have a courthouse dog. Manhart said courthouse dogs can be a great resource for court victims.
“It’s very helpful because victims a lot of times experience a lot of trauma, a lot of stress going through the court system, and this allows them a little extra partner, a little extra resource that they can have with them during these times of stress,” Manhart said.
He’s not a service dog there to play – he’s got a specific job to do. He comforts victims and helps them through the court process.
“They would actually be able to go into the courtroom and sit with them on the stand or lay at their feet while they have to testify or face the offenders in their cases,” Manhart explained.
Especially when it comes to tough criminal cases, involving things like rape victims, child sexual assault victims, or maybe survivors of a homicide, that’s when “man’s best friend” truly earns his name.
“There’s only so much I can give them,” Manhart said. “I can give them information and talk to them and tell them what’s going to happen but it’s this dog that’s actually going to be able to give them that feeling of security, the love, and calmness that he can offer.”
Courthouse dogs go through years of special training to be ready for this.
The dog will actually be Manhart’s. He will go home with her every night but every day, he’ll come to work with her. He even has his own special corner office space.
The cost to train courthouse dogs is about $42,000. Manhart is responsible for $8,000 of that. If you would like to donate to help cover the cost, you can do so through the Bannock County Victims Services Facebook page.
Manhart will leave in April to go train with the dog for about a week and a half. Then she will bring him back to Pocatello. Manhart said they plan to hold some sort of meet-and-greet in May to introduce him to the public.
