Girl Testifying In Court Gets Crucial Help From The Most Unlikely 'Friend'
In a courtroom on the stand, we are not allowed to have our friends and family by our side to hold our hand or whisper encouragement. But people are allowed to seek support in an animal that can provide comfort and strength. In some cases, this helping paw can be key to both the witness — and the case.
Karl the Boxer
It all started when a white boxer was born. He was named Karl, and he was instantly loved. However, finding a home for him would be difficult because he was completely deaf in both ears. Luckily, one woman didn't seem to mind.
Joanne's Expertise
Joanne Hart-Rittenhouse was a dog lover who was happy to adopt Karl, even if it meant facing a more difficult training process. It's easy to teach a dog tricks with verbal commands, but getting a pup's attention with eye contact alone isn't.
Therapy Dogs
Before adopting Karl, Joanne already had 3 boxers, all of which became therapy dogs. Once Joanne and Karl had established some sign language commands, the pooch proved to be incredibly sympathetic and well-behaved.
Learning Signs
Impressively, clever Karl learned over 100 signs. The only problem was that while Joanna knew exactly how to communicate with him in detail, most people couldn't. If Karl was going to work with people who needed him, they would need to learn some signs.
