EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — The Texas Legislature passed a bill in 2021 to allow specially trained dogs into courthouses to accompany people to the witness stand.
These dogs are called “therapy dogs” and this particular Labrador became El Paso’s first therapy dog for the El Paso County Courthouse.
When you meet GusGus, he’s like any other 2-year-old Labrador: goofy and loving attention. But to 383rd District Court Judge Lyda Ness Garcia, he plays a much bigger role.
“He’s not trained to perform tasks like a service dog, or a K-9. His job is purely to provide comfort and affection,” Ness Garcia said.
Before Ness Garcia took the bench in 2021, she practiced family law for over 25 years. She represented children and parents in the Child Protective Services system and saw first-hand how much anxiety children have.
“Parents, without meaning to, put an awful lot of burden on their kids, or kids pick up on it and they have these loyalties that start getting divided. I think for all of us, all animals are comfort animals in their own sense,” she said.
Ness Garcia has been training GusGus since he was 6 months old and he’s a natural at becoming everyone’s best friend.
GusGus’ and Garica’s Certification of completion of facility dog training. Photos taken by Jocelyn Flores/KTSM
“He seems to be extraordinarily empathic — like he knows exactly when to go over to a child, when you can see them getting upset,” Ness Garcia said.
GusGus’ training has a lot to do with obedience training, so he’s able to stay at the testimony table for long periods of time.
“Most of his training, obviously involved obedience training. He has the ability to sit underneath the witness stand for about an hour and he will down, stay and let someone rub him, pet him or just have him be close,” Ness Garcia said.
“He won’t be disruptive; he’s very good with kids. He has actually been used with children with Down syndrome. We’ve had autistic children and he is a big ol’ goofball but when he puts that vest on, it’s like he knows there’s a different role for him to take,” Ness Garcia said.
Ness Garcia says the impact of having GusGus is huge, especially in instances of calming down children.
“I had one child who we were just talking and just started sobbing and GusGus was actually lying down near me, on my feet. His head popped up and he kind of ran over and just put his head on their lap and started being a little bit of a goof by nuzzling his nose and it made the child laugh and kind of helped disrupt them from whatever anxiety they were feeling,” Ness Garcia said.
GusGus with his portrait. Photo taken by Jocelyn Flores.
GusGus has become a celebrity and is well-received member in the courthouse. With his vest and his “please pet me” tag, all who interact with him are sure to leave with a smile.
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