Faces were smiling and tails were wagging as the Seventeenth Circuit marked the fifth anniversary of its Therapy Dog Program! Established in the summer of 2013 as a pilot program, Judge Susan Lebow was the first to welcome the initial two teams into her juvenile dependency hearings. More judges and more teams came aboard and now five years later, five teams bring canine companionship to the central courthouse several days a week. Currently, the teams are used in just the dependency division, helping children who need them. Plans to expand the program to other divisions is in the works.
Pictured in the group photo are, L-R: Judge Schulman, Judge Bristol, Judge Gamm, Judge Gillespie, Judge Lebow and Judge Izquierdo.
