Passaic Prosecutor Offering Pet Therapy To Child Victims

PASSAIC COUNTY, NJ – A new program in Passaic County will pair child abuse victims with therapy pets to help them feel more at ease.

The Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office received grant funding to team up with Creature Comfort Pet Therapy to provide visits to children at the county’s Child Advocacy Center in Totowa who are being interviewed about suspected abuse and maltreatment.

In a press release announcing the new program, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia Valdes said, “The addition of pet therapy visits will further expand the victim services available at PCPO with the goal of putting children at ease while in an unfamiliar and potentially fearful situation.”

“These special pets, which include trained dogs, cats and rabbits, and their handlers will be available on an ‘on-call’ basis to respond to the Child Advocacy Center for any child who may benefit from this service,” Valdes said.

Joan Nixon, a coordinator with the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office of Victim Witness Advocacy, said, said, "There is such a growing recognition of the benefits that pets provide, and so many wonderful programs that are utilizing pets with vulnerable populations. We thought this could be a great addition to the services we offer to victims to help mitigate some of the anxiety that can result in being involved with the criminal justice system."

While some independent advocacy centers have used therapy pets in a similar way and there are a few other prosecutor's offices in New Jersey that are looking into programs, Nixon said she believes Passaic County is among the first to offer the service.

"County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and the entire Special Victims Unit are committed to making sure that our children are interviewed in a non-threatening setting and that the Child Advocacy Center, where these interviews take place, is an environment of warmth, safety and caring. Giving children the option to spend some time with a specially trained pet will make the environment at the Center even more welcoming," she said.

Creature Comfort Pet Therapy is a nine-year-old non-profit organization based in Morris County that aims to enhance lives through therapeutic visits with volunteers and their pets.

The non-profit has certified more than 400 pet therapy teams, including cats, dogs, rabbits, a goat, guinea pigs and a mini horse.

The teams visit people at nursing homes, schools, hospitals, mental health centers and veterans programs. Recently, volunteers went to Newark Liberty Airport to calm travelers during the holiday rush and William Paterson University to help students de-stress at the end of the quarter.

For more information about Creature Comfort Pet Therapy, visit their website.