Dogs ready to comfort child victims

The latest Sand Dollar Foundation project began with three women on Navarre Beach who found out they had more in common than their love for dogs.

Julie Condon, founder of Sand Dollar Foundation, and her partners Iris Tatom and Dee Curry, all own a Shih Tzu therapy dog, and they also have been affected by sexual abuse in some way. The brave women and their beloved pets began their crusade early this year to help sexually-abused children start a journey to find peace.

The first mission of the faith-based organization is to see abused children be able to hold their therapy dogs in the courtroom as they testify against their abuser. Having therapy dogs in the courtroom is a fairly new addition to the many roles these trained dogs have already excelled in. Dogs have been used for many years to assist the visually impaired, diabetics and comfort sick and elderly patients.

For more on thiss tory, see the Oct. 6 issue of Navarre Press or subscribe online.