20220612-CAPITALSTYLEMAGAZINE-T-0 - Flipbook - Page 62
Lily, a labradoodle, wears this badge when she is working as a therapy dog.
BY MIKE KLINGAMAN Capital Style
PHOTOGRAPHY BY BARBARA HADDOCK TAYLOR
T
he girl, perhaps 14, sat stoically in the Anne
Arundel County courtroom, giving testimony during a rape trial in which she’d
been the victim. In a clear and steady voice,
before a hushed jury, she described the assault, from
time to time stroking the dog that lay quietly beside
her in the witness box. Doing so seemed to lessen the
ordeal of reliving the nightmare.
The dog, a labradoodle named Lily, played her role
to a T.
“Lily’s being there allowed the child to tell her
story in a much calmer demeanor,” said her owner,
Barb Reilly, 64, of Severna Park. “At times [during
those 20 minutes], when Lily felt the girl was upset,
62 | SUMMER 2022 | capitalstylemag.com
she’d sit up, bat her eyes and rest her head in the
child’s lap.”
The pooch is part of the county’s Circuit Court
Dog Program, a five-year-old setup that allows qualified canines to accompany minors in court-related
proceedings. The goal: to minimize a child’s trauma
in testifying in criminal and civil cases.
“A courtroom is a very foreign atmosphere for
a minor, given the stakes involved, such as divorce
or guardianship issues,” said Glenn L. Klavans, 69,
the county administrative judge who oversees the
program. “A dog lends children emotional support.
What we generally see [with animals at their side] is
a sort of normalcy.