Support dog helps veterans cope in local courtroom

By L. L. Brasier Detroit Free Press DETROIT (AP) -- Fourteen men sitting in a room at the Novi district courthouse had two things in common: They were military veterans, and they were in legal trouble. Rylan, a 3-year-old Doberman pinscher, offered up some sympathy recently to the men waiting. She wagged her tail and placed her long snout on an occasional knee. Rylan is the nation's first veterans court dog, a trained support animal that provides distraught and often anxious veterans with a way to cope as they work through their legal problems. She sits with them before court, then accompanies them before the judge -- a calming presence in a sometimes threatening environment. "I was surprised when I first saw her. I thought, 'What's a dog doing in court?'" said Dean Hayden, 48, of Wixom, a Marine Corps vet participating in the veterans court program following a drunken-driving arrest last year. "But then I could see how she helps everybody relax." The veterans court -- one of four in the state and among 60 or so in the country -- is Judge Brian MacKenzie's project. MacKenzie, of the 52nd District Court in Novi, started the program in January 2010. The months-long program includes therapy at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System and support from court staff, along with cajoling, lectures and praise from the judge at monthly hearings. Twenty-five veterans have or are participating, with most facing charges involving drugs, drunken driving, retail fraud and minor assaults. Rylan is the newest addition to the therapy-heavy program. "These are men who, on some level, think of themselves as warriors," MacKenzie said. "And this is a dog they can connect with." Army veteran Ian Sullivan, 35, of Commerce Township, is participating in the program after his arrest for marijuana possession and resisting arrest. "The military teaches you self-discipline, structure," he said. "And then you get out, and you give it up. Here in court, we learn those things again. We get the support system back so that we're all like one unit. And the dog becomes part of that unit. We kind of look at her like our mascot." Rylan's owner and trainer, Lisa Blanchard of Clinton Township, volunteers her services, driving the dog to court. Rylan has undergone extensive obedience training to become a support dog. Rylan was recruited by Dan Cojanu, founder of the nonprofit Canine Advocacy Program, which recruits and trains dogs to help people in legal settings. "I just say there is something magical about dogs," Cojanu said. "The calming effect they have on anybody who's under a lot of stress. I don't have the research to show it, I only know what I've observed, and that's what I've seen." Published: Thu, Jul 7, 2011

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