Too cute? Colleges, courts grapple with the role of companion animals

 15-year-old girl took the witness stand to testify against the accused, detailing extensive sexual abuse. David Crenshaw, the clinical supervisor of the girl's therapist at the time of the June 2011 trial, said he and the therapist did not think she would be able to go through with it."She can't even talk to me about the trauma, it's so hard for her, so how in the world is she going to get up on the stand in front of a room full of people and testify?" Crenshaw said the therapist asked.But the girl was not in the witness box by herself. At her feet sat Rosie, an 11-year-old service-trained golden retriever who had come out of retirement for the trial. The case was the first in New York state judicial history to permit a dog to accompany a child witness on the stand.The girl testified for 1 hour and 15 minutes and was in contact with Rosie the whole time, petting her and at one point taking off her shoe and touching Rosie with her foot."To this day, she says she couldn't have done it without Rosie," Crenshaw said.Courtroom canines like Rosie are known as facility dogs, and at least seven states have some type of law allowing their assistance on the witness stand.