2023 Peer Training Workshops
Virtual workshops for justice facility dog handlers and other professionals involved in facility dog programs in the legal system.
These one-hour workshops are offered live at 11 AM Pacific Time on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month and are also available as recordings afterward if you are unable to attend in person.
The cost for each workshop is just $25. The registration link is available for each workshop below.
Please note – The material in these workshops is intended for professionals who are partnered with a certified facility dog from an ADI-accredited assistance dog organization.
April 26 – Welcome to the Family with Fawn Borden and Rebecca Petty
Register to view recorded workshop
Fawn Borden is a Certified Facility Dog handler with the State of Arkansas and is partnered with Roxy V. Fawn graduated from the University of Central Arkansas with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. She has been in the criminal justice field for 11 years. Fawn began her career as a court liaison for Arkansas Community Corrections. She went to work as a Victim/Witness Coordinator for the Faulkner County Prosecutor’s Office in 2014. While there, she became a secondary handler for Barb II. Barb was the first courthouse dog in Arkansas. In 2022 PAWS for Justice was started. PAWS for Justice is a program, ran out of the Office of the Prosecutor Coordinator, that provides certified facility dogs across the state. Fawn is the Assistant Program director as well as a handler for Roxy V.
Fawn and Roxy were paired in February 2023 by Canine Companions. The program provides facility dogs that can participle in forensic interviews, police interviews, medical exams, prosecutor meetings as well as trial proceedings. These dogs have also been used in juvenile court and specialty courts, such as sobriety court. Roxy is a black ½ lab ½ golden mix. Roxy has already learned to play several games to interact with clients and participated in trial prep meetings.
After losing her 12-year-old daughter, Andi, to abduction and murder, Rebecca Petty chose to fight for the rights of crime victims and work to keep children safe from predatory crime. She was a member of TEAM HOPE, a support network for families of missing children and a founding member of the Surviving Parents Coalition. Rebecca was chosen to participate in a roundtable discussion with President George W. Bush and lobbied for the Child Safety Act that created the National AMBER Alert System.
Rebecca served three terms in the Arkansas House of Representatives where she served as Vice-Chair of the Judiciary Committee and served on the Aging, Children, Youth and Veteran Affairs Committees. She has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a master’s degree of science in leadership and ethics. Currently she works for the Office of the Prosecutor Coordinator for the state of Arkansas as a Certified Facility Dog Handler with her Canine Companion Ari the Third. They assist child victims and vunerable adults through the criminal justice system. She lives in Rogers, Arkansas with her husband William.
This workshop is designed for new and prospective handlers, although it may be helpful for all of us. Fawn and Rebecca will be talking about how the reality of being a facility dog handler compares to our expectations, how to integrate your facility dog into your daily life, resources available to help you, and how to set good habits from the beginning.
May 10 – “Selling Your Courthouse Dog Program” with Tamara Martin
Register for this workshop
Do you need to convince leadership in your agency of the benefits of having a courthouse facility dog? Is there a newly elected DA who is a little skeptical about the work you are doing with your facility dog? Tamara Martin has been through a lot of transitions and will share with us her best ideas for persuading other professionals that your Courthouse Dog program is a great idea. Come with your questions on this topic!
Tamara Martin has spent over 35 years in the criminal justice system, having worked with both offenders and victims in providing services and assistance in the areas specific to the needs of the people she serves. With each position she has held she strives to create a space for accountability, rehabilitation, and trauma-focused resources and assistance. Tamara earned her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Auburn University at Montgomery. Tamara’s professional career began in counseling and advocacy for domestic violence and sexual assault victims. Starting in 1992 and continuing for 21 years, Tamara was employed as a Probation Officer for the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama. Following her retirement in 2013, she began the first courthouse facility dog program in Alabama. In 2014, Tamara was partnered with facility dog Willow, a graduate of Canine Companion. For years, Willow and Tamara were the only courthouse Facility Dog team in Alabama. Together, they assisted with cases throughout the state. Tamara and Willow were instrumental in starting HERO, Alabama’s statewide facility dog program. HERO is the first statewide program in the country and has earned an outstanding reputation internationally.
Tamara is also a forensic interview specialist, where she uses her extensive training to perform forensic interviews of children who are crime victims or witnesses to crime, producing interviews that are legally sufficient for court admissibility. Over her 30+ years, Tamara has served on various State Task Forces all related to crimes against children, intimate partner violence, trafficking, and sexual assault, including specific Alabama Governor appointments. Tamara is also a presenter and trainer for law enforcement, prosecutors, advocates, and other disciplines relating to the protection of vulnerable and marginalized victims. She currently serves on the Alabama Domestic Violence Resource Council. Tamara is the handler for Facility Dog Yahini with the Alabama Office of Prosecution Services in Montgomery.