Comfort Dog Ryan is Still a Good Boy  – SPD Blotter

Ryan, the Seattle Police Division’s “Consolation Canine,” continues to be a superb boy and has been working very laborious to maintain his fellow people right here in Seattle. 

Ryan, who’s a five-year-old English Labrador Retriever, has been with SPD for practically 3 1/2 years. He works as a Consolation Canine within the Sexual Assault and Little one Abuse Unit (SAU). Ryan got here from America’s Vet Canines in New York. Throughout his time at SPD, he has supported 72 youngsters and 43 adults (that’s 115 individuals!) in so some ways. 

“Doggy Ryan,” as he’s referred to as by his handler and human mother, Det. Shannon Waldorf helps grownup survivors of sexual assault by sitting with them throughout interviews for as much as 2-4 hours with police detectives and attorneys and all through your complete courthouse expertise.

Just lately, a sexual assault survivor who Ryan comforted throughout her interview with a detective, discovered his consolation once more three years later whereas she learn her sufferer influence assertion to a choose at sentencing. 

Doggy Ryan additionally helps juvenile survivors of bodily and sexual assault by sitting with them throughout baby forensic interviews. The mom of a 15-year-old survivor just lately mentioned having Ryan current throughout her daughter’s interview was instrumental in calming her nerves and nervousness in regards to the course of.  

The Youngsters’s Justice Middle of King County‘s (CJSKC) current e-newsletter highlighted a case involving a younger woman who engaged extra brazenly and felt protected throughout her interview with Ryan by her facet:

“Their story underscored the profound influence that trauma-informed, collaborative approaches—typically supported by 4 paws and a wagging tail—can have on a baby’s path to security and justice.” -CJCKC

And this previous summer season, Ryan sat with a 9-year-old baby for practically six hours throughout a prison trial the place the kid was requested to testify in opposition to her mom and mom’s boyfriend in a baby abuse/neglect case.  

Ryan’s work consists of:

Grownup and teenage interviews

Little one forensic interviews

Interviews at faculties

Protection interviews on the courthouse

Comforting survivors on the witness stand

“Meet and greets” with a prosecutors

Supporting survivors throughout sentencing hearings

Ryan additionally attends neighborhood occasions centered on serving to youngsters and households, working with the Ronald McDonald Home and Seattle Youngsters’s Hospital. Earlier this 12 months, Ryan was even requested on the Youngsters’s Craniofacial Affiliation household retreat occasion. Ryan’s persevering with service improves so many individuals’s lives.

“Consolation Canine Ryan and his particular person, Shannon, met every baby on the Ronald McDonald Home with the heat and peace that solely a extremely educated and intuitive crew can present. We cherished having them right here!” –Marla Malone, Meal Program & Actions Supervisor

The Metropolis of Seattle and our police division are repeatedly grateful for Consolation Canine Ryan and Det. Waldorf for all of the work that they do, and for serving to survivors by means of their often-difficult journey within the prison justice system.