N.B.'s 1st court service dog retires, 'left a paw print on all our hearts'

Nine years old might seem too early to retire but for Marielle the poodle — New Brunswick's first court service dog — that's 63 in human years.

Marielle stood next to or laid across the laps of more than 300 victims of crime, offering comfort to them in police stations and courtrooms across the province.

She set the standard in 2019 by becoming the first member of the New Brunswick Justice Facility Dog program which now has four other accredited dogs.

"She deserves to retire but she's created such remarkable change for people that it's also a bit bittersweet because we'd love her to work forever," Kristal LeBlanc, who created the program, said to a crowd gathered at a farewell party for Marielle in Shediac.

The program came from LeBlanc's ambition to offer support to people beyond what humans can during times of stress, such as when victims testify before a judge.

"We used Marielle so that we'd have stronger convictions and so that victims could take their power back," Leblanc said.

Marielle sat in on interviews with RCMP officers, forensic medical exams, court testimonies, interventions and therapy sessions.

LeBlanc got the idea from a yellow lab who was doing similar work in Ontario.

As the CEO of the Courage Centre, a shelter for women in the Shediac region, she saw the potential dogs could offer to clients she serves there.

It took about three years for Marielle to be accredited by the Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides.

"We fell in love with her the day we met her," LeBlanc said of Marielle, a black, curly-haired poodle.

LeBlanc became Marielle's co-handler along with her co-worker, Chantal Thanh De Alba. Soon enough, LeBlanc and De Alba were bringing Marielle into work every day.

"It's a very intense bond and one of mutual respect and admiration," LeBlanc said.

The dogs are trained to apply pressure to victims, almost like acupuncture, when they sense a shift in their mood.