So my dog Cooper and I are becoming volunteers at the Children's Justice Center, which is a place of investigation for child abuse. Basically, it's a kid-friendly, non-threatening environment where they conduct interviews with a child who has been abused. They have started a new program called Healing Paws, which is where they bring a dog into the interview to make the child more comfortable and willing to participate in the interview. Cooper and I are being evaluated and trained by their team to become members of the Healing Paws program, and I'm really excited! I've always felt that animals were very emotionally health-ful for humans, and now I can share the love of my dog with others in need. Cooper even gets his very own "business cards" that we can give out! I'm excited for this awesome opportunity to serve with my doggy. If you want to read an article about the program, go to www.transcriptbulletin.com, scroll down to and click on the "Archive Search Page" link on the left, and search for the article "Dogs help children recount abuse" that was written on Jan. 17 2008.