Sully the Courthouse Dog Retires, Rosie Steps in to Fill His Paws

Like all careers, it was a dog's life at times, but a good life for Sully, a golden retriever who worked for the County Prosecutor's Office on the Victim Advocate team.

At his recent retirement party, Sully was praised for his role in helping crime victims relax.

"Sully absolutely played a real and important role when you have vulnerable individuals like children or people not used to a stressful situation like a court setting," says Prosecuting Attorney Joe McCulloch.

For the past eight years, Sully's job has been to help calm crime victims so they can tell their stories during testimonies, cross examinations, and depositions.

Vickie Roberts, the Victim Advocate Coordinator for the Prosecuting Attorney's Office, recalls sometimes Sully would sit on the floor inside the witness box during court proceedings.

"We've had trials where a victim was testifying and Sully was curled at her feet and she even took her shoe off and was petting Sully with her foot so she could get through the testimony," Roberts says.

Sully's handler, former prosecutor Becky Shaffar, says Sully had an effect on children that helped them express what happened to them.

"There were a lot of cases when the prosecutor was interviewing the victim and getting nowhere, and then Sully comes into the room and she immediately opens up," Shaffar says.

Sully joined the Prosecuting Attorney's Office in 2016 and will continue to live with Shaffar and her family in retirement.

The new Victim Advocate dog in the Prosecuting Attorney's Office is Rosie, a yellow Labrador retriever who attended Sully's retirement party. The two enjoyed a dog biscuit cake together and posed for pictures.

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