She walks through the corridors of the courts oblivious to the commotion caused by her measured walk. He is not a judge, but his presence is required at many trials. He is not a policeman either, although he provides protection and confidence to the victims. And he has never witnessed what happened, despite the fact that she is often the first to know all the details. Yanis is a Dogtor, one of the dogs that accompanies minors from the Community of Madrid when they testify as victims of violence.
As with Lío and Dollar, two beautiful labradors, the role of this galga is to provide support to the little ones and favor the perception of a kinder environment within the bitterness of having to go to his young age to describe stark episodes in which the aggressor is usually someone from his own family environment in seven out of ten cases.
To do this, Yanis waits at the entrance of the OVAD (Offices for Assistance to Victims of Crime) of the Community of Madrid. There he introduces himself to the victim for whom he will act as a squire in a session that the judges try not to last more than 20-25 minutes.
After the respective presentations, and an exchange of hugs and caresses, the little ones -many of them paralyzed by fear-, are given the leash with which Yanis, who will no longer be separated from their side until the process is over. , opens the way for them to one of the Gesell rooms distributed in several courts in Madrid and in which a child psychologist and the dog's trainer will also be present.
Decorated like a games room, the little ones perceive a family environment in them without imagining that, from the other side of the glass, the judge, the lawyers for both parties, the prosecutor and a social worker are watching them. Everything is measured in detail to protect the minor who is accommodated on a sofa. That is the exact signal the Dogtor awaits to go into action. Recognizing the sofa as their work space, they climb on it to settle in the lap of the minors and offer to be caressed, changing their role from squire to that of therapist.
With the help of an earpiece connected to the control room, he advances in the preconstituted test and verbalizes the issues agreed upon by all parties so that the victim narrates his experience. Next to him, in a very discreet background, remains the trainer who, unless the situation requires his intervention, will remain immobile.
Most of the time the victims feel confident and tell their testimonies. But when the young age of the little ones, or the ruthless sexual violence suffered, suppose an extra barrier in the form of a taboo, the psychologist must bring out all her abilities to break it down.
"On some occasion they are offered to whisper it to the dogs and Yanis, always ready, raises his ear as a trusted confidant," says Vanessa Carral, director of Dogtor Animal, the company that has been working with dogs for more than a decade. as well as a team of psychologists and intervention dog trainers for therapies with children with sensory or neurological difficulties, the elderly or people at risk of social exclusion and victims of gender violence.
Thanks to the microphone hidden in the dogs' work overalls, the account of the events reaches the ears of the judge and the lawyers who attend in the dark from the next room.
Now all that remains is to return to the entrance to the courts where the bond between dogs and minors is valued again, offering the latter a souvenir photo. The goal of emphatically reinforcing the entrance and exit of the courts is due to the fact that memories at an early age "are generally constructed based on the beginning and end of experiences." Leaving the part in the middle, in this case the judicial testimony, in "a nebula that tends to be forgotten before the games and affection with the dogs," says Carral.
The Community of Madrid started this service back in 2014 with a pilot test that has gradually convinced all parties. Since then, dogs like Yanis have accompanied 528 minors between the ages of 1 and 17 during their forensic interviews in judicial venues for violence, family and instruction. The average in the first years was slightly above 10%, but the demand for the service of Support Dogs for Minors in Courts skyrocketed in 2022, experiencing an increase of 92% compared to the previous year.
The proceedings focused mainly on cases related to violence (62%), followed by sexual abuse (8%), custody reviews (5%) and guardianship reviews (3%).
And in terms of ages, the group that most benefited from this service last year was between 8 and 10 years old, followed by those under 11 and 12 years of age. Although a service was also performed with a victim who was barely one year old.
