SAN ANTONIO – The Bexar County Justice Center is a place emotional and distressing cases are heard every day, leaving jurors grappling with the trauma of graphic testimony and evidence. To help alleviate some of the emotional toll, therapy dogs are stepping in to provide comfort.
Happy Buttles, a local advocate for therapy dogs, knows firsthand how dogs can offer solace during difficult times.
Buttles turned to her standard poodles for support after losing her son five years ago.
“It doesn’t take away the pain, but it helps them deal with it at that time,” Buttles said.
Motivated by her own experience, Buttles decided to share the healing power of her dogs with others.
“I felt like if they could get me through my pain, my trauma, and my PTSD of everything that I experienced, I need to be able to give it back to the community,” she said.
Now, Buttles and her team regularly attend trials where disturbing details are presented, providing comfort to jurors, court staff, and others involved.
Judge Ron Rangel of the 379th District Court praised the program’s impact.
“Very traumatic for everybody in that courtroom, including myself,” Rangel said. “And so having the ability to have therapy dogs in the courtroom has really helped jurors come along.”
In a recent trial, Rangel noted that jurors expressed gratitude for the dogs’ presence.
“One individual that was on the jury told us that just having the dogs present in the courtroom — she could hear them breathe, and she could hear them sort of move around. (It) was very soothing and therapeutic for her,” he said.
The therapy dogs can be requested by anyone involved in a case, and Buttles and her team have already provided support in several trials.
“There’s enough ugly people in the world. You don’t have to be one,” Buttles said. “I’ve learned to turn frowns upside down. My dogs have done it as well.”
Buttles remains committed to spreading love and hope through her therapy dogs, ensuring comfort for those facing some of the most challenging moments of their lives.
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