Therapy Paws Comforts Children and Helps Them Cope with Courtrooms

This morning, Lisa Groves Bax and Olive (Therapy Dog) came to visit us in our studio.

Lisa is the founder of Therapy Paws, a relatively new organization in the Jefferson City area that works with CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) to help vulnerable and traumatized children navigate the judicial system.

Often these children must enter the courtroom alone, in the company of a relative stranger, or even face their guardian in court. Olive enters the courtroom with the child as a therapy dog, creating warmth and security, relieving some of the anxiety and stress.

Therapy Paws became a non-profit less than a year ago. Due to the multitude of requests for their assistance, not only in court rooms but in hospitals, group homes, disaster areas, etc., they are looking to build on Olive’s impact and recruit more canine handlers and therapy dogs across the state.

They can be contacted through Facebook or at therapypaws.org