Coming to court can be a scary and traumatic experience, especially for children and adults who may be suffering from past trauma.  There is a growing trend of canine advocates/therapy dogs being introduced into courts to work with these populations. 

As a bench warrant officer assigned to the Cass County Friend of the Court, I saw an opportunity to take my previous K-9 handler and training experience as a sheriff’s deputy and provide a valuable addition to our courts.  I made a proposal to Sheriff Rick Behnke and Chief Judge Susan Dobrich that I personally acquire and train a puppy as a therapy dog to help alleviate some of the stress that our most vulnerable clients experience at the courthouse.  The proposal was approved, and after completing training, Baxter was sworn in as a member of the Cass County Courts on March 26, 2019.  The Cass County FOC is now home to “Baxter the Therapy Dog.”

From the beginning, I looked at this new opportunity with Baxter as a personal challenge to undertake all of the therapy dog training from the beginning.  My first patrol/narcotics K-9 partner was retired in 2014, and I wanted to add a unique aspect to our now-established Cass County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit.  Today, Baxter is one of three canines in the unit.  The other two are Faust, a patrol and narcotics detection canine, and Nellie, a tracking canine.

Baxter’s formal training started at Top Notch Service Dogs in Elkhart, Indiana, when he was 8 weeks old.  Baxter is an English Labrador retriever, born on Aug. 20, 2017.  He has been coming into the FOC office as part of his training since he was 7 weeks old.  As his training progressed, he spent more and more time at the FOC.

Baxter has been specifically trained to work as a therapy dog/canine advocate for traumatized victims and witnesses, as well as vulnerable adults.  His training included:

• Puppy Class I;

• Puppy Class II;

• American Kennel Club (AKC) Star Puppy Certification;

• AKC Canine Good Citizen Title Certification;

• AKC Community Canine Title Certification (Advanced Canine Good Citizen).

Baxter is available to sit with a victim or witness while they are testifying and to sit with people who are being interviewed.  In the FOC, Baxter sits with children being interviewed by the attorney referee.  Since his swearing in, Baxter has had countless interactions with children and adults in the Law and Courts Building, and specifically in the FOC office, as well as participated in court proceedings and numerous community events.

Children have reacted very positively to Baxter.  He seems to have a calming effect, particularly with distressed children.  He is also a great morale booster for staff and the public at the Law and Courts Building, especially in the FOC office.  Baxter visits with FOC staff daily, and often snags some treats!

If you are considering bringing a therapy dog into your court, I would be happy to talk to you.  Feel free to send an e-mail to foc@cassco.org to the attention of Deputy Gondeck.

You can also follow Baxter on his Facebook page, “Baxter the Therapy Dog” (facebook.com/k9baxter).

If you have questions about the FOC that you think would be helpful to address in future columns, please send them to the FOC email address:  foc@cassco.org.

Deputy Tim Gondeck has been a bench warrant officer at the Cass County FOC since 2016 and is now also handler of Cass County FOC’s therapy K-9.  He has been a deputy with the Cass County Sheriff’s Office since 2002.  He holds an associate’s degree in criminal justice from Lake Michigan College and has been licensed by the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards since 1992.  Deputy Gondeck became a certified K-9 handler in 2005, handling a patrol/narcotics K-9 from 2005 to 2014.