Courthouse Dogs Foundation Information

At Courthouse Dogs Foundation, we seek to promote justice with compassion through the use of professionally trained facility dogs to provide emotional support to everyone in the justice system. We envision a world where there is a dog in every courthouse providing emotional support to everyone in need during stressful legal proceedings. The Courthouse Dogs Foundation was founded in Bellevue, Washington and serves people across all of North America, with several other active projects in South America and Europe. We train the people, not the dogs. We provide training to legal professionals about incorporating professionally trained facility dogs that are graduates from assistance dog organizations that are members of Assistance Dogs International into the investigation and prosecution of crimes and other legal proceedings. These dogs are handled by criminal justice professionals and advocates in child advocacy centers, forensic interviews, and courtroom testimony. The Courthouse Dogs Foundation also supports assistance dog organizations that are members of Assistance Dogs International and facilitates research on the role of courthouse facility dogs in the legal system. For legal questions, please contact Ellen O’Neill-Stephens: Phone: 206.316.6273 ellen@courthousedogs.org For questions on dog issues or to schedule training for your jurisdiction, please contact Celeste Walsen, DVM: Phone: 425.922.0757 celeste@courthousedogs.org