The National Children’s Advocacy Center’s newest worker has four legs and is already making a big difference.
Wilson the facility dog is helping children feel comfortable talking about their abuse. In the past month and a half he’s already worked 62 cases.
Wilson knows over 40 commands and can pull toy wagons and push drawers closed. He’s the center’s first facility dog and is also helping foster kids and workers at the center who deal with trauma.
“She had just come from her sexual assault exam over at Crisis Services,” said Paula Wolfteich, NCAC’s intervention and clinical director, talking about a young girl. “She was very nervous. She was actually taking prophylactic pills for STD’s and they were hard for her to swallow. So Wilson laid his head on her lap and she was able to take her medication and feel much more at ease.”
There are only a few other facility dogs in the state and workers at the NCAC say having an animal for comfort is “the way of the future.”
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