Marielle the courtroom dog (91.9 The Bend Photo)
The Beausejour Family Crisis Resource Centre now has a canine member as part of its team.
Marielle is a three-year-old Standard Poodle who is a courtroom dog.
She accompanies adults and children to help relieve stress if they need to testify in court.
Executive director Kristal LeBlanc says Marielle was gifted to the organization earlier this year.
“It’s an international program with over 300 dogs doing this work across the globe. She is the only one in New Brunswick. She did her first sexual assault trial on May 31 and right now she has bookings up until March of 2020,” LeBlanc notes.
Appearing in a courtroom can be a very stressful experience says LeBlanc especially for children with police officers in bullet-proof vests, lawyers in robes and a judge on a high bench.
She adds Marielle is trained to smell your stress and to increase your oxytocin which is your happy hormone.
