New addition to Summit County Prosecutor's Office has four paws and works for dog treats

April Helms, Akron Beacon Journal
·5 min read
Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh hugs her office's new facility dog, Adam, during his introductory press conference, Wednesday in Akron. Adam's primary job is to provide emotional support to children who are victims or witnesses to crimes when they come to the courthouse or prosecutors office.
Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh hugs her office's new facility dog, Adam, during his introductory press conference, Wednesday in Akron. Adam's primary job is to provide emotional support to children who are victims or witnesses to crimes when they come to the courthouse or prosecutors office.

The Summit County Prosecutor's Office welcomed a new employee to its ranks Wednesday. While he never passed the bar exam, he aced his classes in following more than 40 commands, plus earned high marks in patience and cuddling.

Adam VII, a black Labrador-retriever mix who will celebrate his second birthday Thursday, was officially welcomed Wednesday morning to the Summit County Prosecutor's office. Adam VII will join Avery II in the prosecutor's office as a facility dog. They will helps victims, particularly children, feel at ease in the prosecutor's office and the courtroom.

dam, the new facility dog at the Summit County Prosecutor's Office, shares a tender moment Wednesday with Avery, who is set to retire from his duties at the courts in a year.
dam, the new facility dog at the Summit County Prosecutor's Office, shares a tender moment Wednesday with Avery, who is set to retire from his duties at the courts in a year.

"We handle thousands of cases in the prosecutor's office, and unfortunately, a lot of those cases involve children," said Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh. "These children see or go through some of the worst things in their lives, and then they have to come to testify in court, in front of a lot of strangers."

Facility dogs such as Avery and Adam are trained to lay down quietly at witnesses' feet while they are in the courtroom or on the stand, Bevan Walsh said.

Summit County Prosecutor's office first one in Ohio to use a facility dog

The Summit County Prosecutor’s Office received Avery, who also is a Labrador-retriever mix, in August 2013.Bevan Walsh said Summit County was the first to use a facility dog in Ohio. With the addition of Adam, the Summit County Prosecutor’s office now is the first prosecutor’s office in Ohio to have two facility dogs. She added that the career for a facility dog is usually about 10 to 12 years, and Avery just turned 12 a few weeks ago. He will enter semi-retirement sometime this year, after lending his paw to nearly 300 cases through his decade of work.

According to information from the prosecutor's office, Avery has worked with 278 victims from 222 cases. Of the 278 victims, 215 were younger than 18. In nearly 50 cases, Avery has sat with a witness as they testified at trial. Avery has also attended over a dozen competency hearings.

Bevan Walsh said the prosecutor's office started looking for another facility dog about a year and a half ago. "We didn't want to be in a situation where Avery retires, and we had no one to take his place."

Still, Avery will not be absent entirely. While he still can, he will still come to the prosecutor's office to lend his support in doggy smiles and tail wags to the office.

"Avery has not only helped crime victims, but those of us in the office as well," Bevan Walsh said.

Avery also attends two specialty courts operated through the Summit County Common Pleas Court, according to information from the prosecutor's office. One is the county's drug court, called The Turning Point Program. The other is the Valor Court, which handles cases involving veterans.

Adam will fulfill many of those same tasks.

Adam, the new facility dog at the Summit County Prosecutor's Office, shows off his tissue-retrieving abilities Wednesday during his introductory news conference in Akron.
Adam, the new facility dog at the Summit County Prosecutor's Office, shows off his tissue-retrieving abilities Wednesday during his introductory news conference in Akron.

Both Adam and Avery were donated by Canine Companions, which is headquartered in Santa Rosa, California.

Melanie Hart, Bevan Walsh's administrative assistant, is Avery’s primary caretaker.

Hart said Avery's calm demeanor is a boon, especially through lengthy court hearings. She said the longest one he went through was three hours. Avery, she said, frequently naps during the proceedings, and several children even told her that they could hear him snore.

Bevan Walsh said the canine program has proven important despite some initial resistance .

"When I first decided to get a facility dog for the prosecutor’s office, many people questioned me and even pushed back on the idea of bringing a dog into court," she said. "But after seeing Avery at work, I can’t imagine not having a facility dog to help crime victims, especially children.”

In addition, there were two cases in which defendants filed appeals on the ground that using Avery in the courtroom could prejudice the jury. Ohio’s 9th District Court of Appeals issued rulings in October 2015 and again in June 2016, however, that upheld the use of the Summit County Prosecutor’s facility dog during trial.

Care and training for dogs provided for through donations

The nonprofit Canine Companions also donates training updates and veterinarian services for both dogs through Stow Kent Animal Hospital in Stow, Bevan Walsh said. Dog chow and other necessities are provided by Pet Supplies Plus. This means that the care for Avery and Adam are fully funded through donations, aside from the staff at the office who take care of them.

Both Avery and Adam have social media pages on Facebook and Instagram. The prosecutor's office also has small plush animals that resemble Avery, and will have plush available of Adam as well.

Avery, who has served as the facility dog at the Summit County Prosecutor's Office for more than ten years, will be slowly easing his way into retirement.
Avery, who has served as the facility dog at the Summit County Prosecutor's Office for more than ten years, will be slowly easing his way into retirement.

Adam, along with his human handler Alyse Ziga, will follow the paw prints of Avery to continue providing emotional support to children who are crime victims and witnesses, specifically children and adults with developmental disabilities. Adam will accompany victims and witnesses to meetings with prosecutors, and numerous court appearances, including suppression hearings, competency hearings, trials, and sentencings.

"Adam knows more than 40 commands," Ziga said. "He can push and pull open a door for a child, he can pull down a basket of toys." During his introduction on Wednesday, Ziga showed how Adam can take an item and give it to someone else, can sit, lay down, and, if someone says "lap," puts his paws on a lap and places his head on someone's shoulder for a hug.

Ziga said that in the first year and a half, Adam lived with a family who worked on his training. The next six months were spent undergoing rigorous training at Canine Companions.

Bevan Walsh said she and Ziga went to Adam's graduation in New Albany. There were eight other graduates, plus around 40 to 50 other dogs undergoing training. Most, if not all, were Labradors, Retrievers, or a mix of the two. These dogs are especially popular for use as service dogs because of their calm nature, intelligence, and their capacity with children and families.

"All of them looked a lot like either Avery or Adam," Bevan Walsh said.

Reporter April Helms can be reached at ahelms@thebeaconjournal.com

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Summit County Prosecutor welcomes second canine employee