Specially trained support dogs that provide emotional support to witnesses and crime victims are an increasingly common sight inside Ontario courthouses.Just this month, a black Labrador named Iggy sprawled across a grey mat outside a courtroom where a child witness was testifying at the downtown Superior Court of Justice building. Iggy and her handler, Barb McIntrye, belong to Boost Child and Youth Advocacy Centre’s BARK program offering support to children and youth through the use of accredited facility dogs.But Crown attorney Cara Sweeny has another courthouse canine milestone. She believes she is the first Ministry of the Attorney General lawyer to bring a support puppy to work.Nine-week-old Hypnos, a yellow Lab, can’t take away “the anguish, but he can bring a little happiness into a dismal day — sunshine in my windowless office,” she said recently during a break from trial preparation. Sweeny works in a challenging environment with a crushing workload. On any given day, she has no choice but to look at child pornography, murder scenes, autopsy photos and child abuse images.Sweeny has also suffered from depression and anxiety throughout her 19-year legal career. “So additional job stress can really push me over the edge. Anything I can do to manage it is essential to surviving.”Acquittals, such as a gang rape case Sweeny prosecuted — and lost — can be hard to accept. “For me it is the victim’s pain. Even if there is a conviction, which there barely ever is, you live with this sense of failure,” Sweeny wrote in an email, referring to sexual assault cases. “Many victims say that the trial process was worse than the rape. How do I continue to play a role in that?” Hypnos has brought a “positive energy to everyone.”At first, Sweeny’s psychiatrist recommended bringing her 2-year-old Golden retriever to the College Park courthouse. Prosecutors there recently wro ...
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