Oklahoma Bar Journal
The Back Page | Court Has Gone to the Dogs
By Mark Morrison
I became interested in therapy dogs after reading various accounts of the benefits of the utilization of these animals in various community settings. I first observed a therapy dog working at a veterans’ court in north Texas, just south of where I live and work in the southern Oklahoma area of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Reservation.
Therapy dogs are used to provide comfort in law enforcement settings, courts, hospitals, clinics, retirement homes, nursing homes, schools and hospices, for people with learning difficulties, and stressful situations such as wildfires, floods, storms, and other disaster areas. In Oklahoma, therapy dogs have been used in several places, including the OU Health Care System for patients of all ages, campuswide in Pete’s Pet Posee at Oklahoma State University, the Care Center of Oklahoma County working with child abuse victims, and the Human Animal Link of Oklahoma, providing therapy dogs to various medical, school, and airport settings.
Therapy dogs are different than other assistance animals, such as service dogs or emotional support animals. Therapy animals are trained to interact with a variety of people in stressful and emotions situations to provide comfort and alleviation of anxiety which specifically includes physical interaction, including petting and talking to the dog. Conversely, service animals are trained to assist a specific person with specific disability, and emotional support animals are trained to provide a specific person with comfort and emotional support, and interaction between the dog and a third party is not permitted.
Chulosa[1] (Chu), pictured above, is a 20-month-old Boykin Spaniel, and is a therapy dog for the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma of Oklahoma. I am Chu’s handler. He lives and works with me every day. Chu began his service with Choctaw Nation when he was nine months old.
Chu interacts daily with parties, children, attorneys, spectators, visitors, witnesses, law enforcement, and court personnel at the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Judicial Center in Durant and soon in McAlester. Chu works with a variety of people including, but not limited to, families and children being provided services at the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Department of Children and Family Services, children undergoing forensic interviews at the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Ahni Center and at the local crisis center providing services to women and children. Chu interacts one-on-one or in small groups of people and has appeared on stage at meetings attended by several hundred people.
ENDNOTES
[1] Chulosa is a Choctaw word meaning to be quiet or calm.
Originally published in the Oklahoma Bar Journal – OBJ 97 No. 8 (October 2026)
Statements or opinions expressed in the Oklahoma Bar Journal are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Oklahoma Bar Association, its officers, Board of Governors, Board of Editors or staff.