Therapy dogs with Austin Dog Alliance help calm families in child-welfare court.[/caption]

The Austin Dog Alliance announced June 13 that it was awarded more than $8,000 to help provide therapy dogs to children in the courtroom.

The Cedar Park-based nonprofit received $8,325 from the Texas Bar Foundation for its Therapy Dogs in the Courtroom program. The grant, which will fund the program for one year, will enable the Alliance to expand its program to bring trained therapy dog teams to the Travis County child-welfare court to reduce the tensions of children and adults during stressful proceedings.

“We are so excited for the Foundation’s support,” said Kathleen Majcher, pet therapy coordinator for the Austin Dog Alliance. “This grant is important to sustaining this important program that provides comfort to children and families during a very difficult time.”

The Alliance has been bringing therapy dogs to child-welfare court since September 2015.

“This grant will allow the Alliance to expand to three additional courtrooms, including Williamson County, which has been specifically requested by CPS,” said Andrea Stone, Texas Bar Foundation executive director.

Since its inception in 1965, the Texas Bar Foundation has awarded more than $17 million in grants to law-related programs. Supported by members of the State Bar of Texas, the Texas Bar Foundation is the nation’s largest charitably funded bar foundation.

Judge Darlene Byrne, who presides over the 126th District Court, welcomes the therapy dogs.

“Our courtroom is like the ER of the hospital for children and families that come before us because of allegations of abuse and neglect of the children, and therapy dogs have been such a calming, nurturing addition,” Byrne said. “These children and families are frightened, traumatized and worried about what is going to happen to them. When they come to the courtroom floor and find a calm and loving therapy dog there to pet, to just be, to accept them for who they are, it helps soothe fears and bring down anxieties.”

Each year, Austin Dog Alliance helps thousands of men, women, seniors and children. In 2016, 160 Alliance therapy dog teams visited more than 275 partner sites, including hospitals, nursing homes, hospices and family courts, serving more than 50,000 Central Texans.

“The dogs help calm not only the families we serve, but also the attorneys, judges, court-appointed special advocates and guests at the courthouse,” Byrne said. “I don’t know how we managed to be a trauma-informed court without Austin Dog Alliance.”

In 2016, the Alliance opened its Kennel and Education Center to expand its service dog program, Hounds for Heroes. The Austin Dog Alliance also provides human-dog training classes for beginners and advanced dog owners. For more information, visit http://austindogalliance.org.