Meet victim’s best friend.
An adorable new “comfort dog” is helping victims and witnesses open up to prosecutors in Queens — allowing them to fetch the answers they need to put criminals behind bars.
Kimi, a 2-year-old Labrador retriever mix, was enlisted by the Queens District Attorney’s Office to ease the stress of people — including kids and women — who clam up after experiencing a traumatic event, officials said at a press conference Wednesday.
“We tell kids, ‘You don’t have to tell me your story but why don’t you tell Kimi?,’” said Jessica Reiss, a manager at Canine Companions for Independence, which trained the dog. “It’s rapport building…It helps with anxiety.”
Along with giving out plenty of snuggles and kisses, the four-legged therapist can accompany victims to a medical examination, an interview room or a courthouse, officials said.
People will often return from walking or tossing a ball for the pooch and finally feel ready to talk, Reiss said.
“[The dogs] have all been involved in harder cases where you couldn’t get the child to reveal exactly what was going on,” she said. “They brought the dog in and all of a sudden everything started to flow.”
“The dog can accompany them to court — pretrial, trial, after trial,” she said. “[It’s] someone in the courtroom that’s not judging them.”
Kimi began working in Queens in August and has already helped soothe victims — including two children — in three cases, said Queens DA Melinda Katz.
“It is extremely difficult to speak about traumatic events and service dogs like Kimi help vulnerable people feel more comfortable as they navigate through a prosecutor’s office and the courthouse,” Katz said. “She’s affectionate, highly trained and has already assisted survivors and witnesses, and put them at ease.”
The pup, who is also part Golden retriever, was provided to the Queens DA at no cost after six months of intensive training, Katz said.
She’s the first canine to work for any district attorney’s office in New York City, though others have been unleashed around the country.
Jennifer Naiburg, Queen’s Chief Assistant District Attorney, said she has already seen the pooch offer services akin to a bone-i-fied counselor.
“There are studies about what a pet does to anxiety levels. Our witnesses, our victims, we see a response in regard to anxiety levels being reduced when she’s present. I have seen it myself,” she said.
“The presence of the dog will help everyone in the room — unless you’re allergic.”
During her training, Kimi learned more than 40 commands including how to open a door, push a button and give a “fist bump” with her nose.
The hardworking pup has since been given a special law enforcement badge that she wears on her neck with a blue bandanna.
