That child is about to be asked to talk about traumatic events they have experienced.

In order to support those children — and the people who have to hear their stories — the CAC has a Tiger in its corner. Tiger, a 6-year-old black Labrador retriever, is a facility dog.

He joined the team this week. He had a week to adjust after moving into his new home with CAC Executive Director Melissa McLean.

This week, Tiger is spending time at the CAC, getting familiar with his new work environment.

“Next week, with permission, we’ll take him over to the courthouse,” McLean said.

His job is to provide support and comfort in “any situation where a child might be experiencing trauma,” she said.

That could be the forensic interview at the CAC or while testifying in court.

Tiger will not be part of every forensic interview or testimony. For some children, Tiger’s presence would not be a calming one — if they are afraid of dogs or very allergic.

It is expected that he will be at least somewhat helpful for the rest.

Children will be able to look at him, touch him, talk to him, or ignore him but know he is there.

“He’s got a tough job,” Bob Willman of White Cane Coffee said. “His job is to be petted.”

Tiger has been trained — in fact, he is overqualified. “Tiger is a fully-trained seeing-eye dog,” McLean said. “He and his person were a certified team. Through no fault of his own, he was separated from his previous owner.”

“The majority of facility dogs are seeing-eye dog dropouts,” she said.

Willman said only about 1 in 6 dogs that enter final training as seeing-eye dogs make it through.

Just having a dog — let alone one as well and specifically trained as Tiger — at the CAC, makes the space more like a home — a positive touch for children already going through traumatic events.

Tiger will be expected to tolerate a certain amount of rough treatment — pulling on his ears or tail won’t get much of a response — and he has to be able to be still and quiet. If he is in court providing support for a child who is testifying, it is ideal if he is not noticed by a jury.

During most of an interview about Tiger, he sat or lay silently on the floor of the CAC living room.

“We really hope he will fit in here and help a lot of kids,” Erin Willman of White Cane Coffee said.

It won’t just be kids.

Adults — law enforcement officers, social workers, children and youth workers, CAC executive directors — who hear the first-hand trauma children have gone through often experience secondary trauma.

McLean said she expects Tiger to be good for her mental health. “I think often about the law enforcement officers, Children and Youth, the social workers,” she said. “We forget sometimes that they helpers need help.”

Tiger doesn’t care who he helps, but he is there first and foremost for children.

The process of adding a facility dog to the staff was a long one. Hooktown Holidays conducted a successful community effort to raise the necessary funds.

“Hooktown Holidays was very instrumental in the fund-raising,” McLean said.

With money in hand, it was time to find the right fit.

“I don’t have the capacity here to vet these places,” McLean said.

Enter White Cane Coffee and the White Cane Coffee Foundation. The CAC and White Cane had been working together for years.

“Bob speaks both languages,” she said.

“We know people,” Bob Willman said. “We can help facilitate this union.”

McLean spoke with Willman about two weeks ago, she said. “I was in buying my iced coffee… on a Monday. Bob called me on Wednesday and said, ‘I’ve got a couple of places interested in working with you.”

The next day, one of those places called. “She said, ‘When can you pick him up? Can you pick him up tomorrow?”

That was too quick, McLean couldn’t make it until the following day.

“I had been looking for so long,” she said. “I’m shocked that the match was found as quick as it was.”

“The quick turnaround startled all of us,” McLean said. “It seemed like the perfect fit. Tiger needed a job. We needed a Tiger.”

Eventually, Tiger will wear a special vest when he is working.

That vest is intended to tell people that Tiger is working.

“You see a dog with a vest on – that’s a businessman,” Erin Willman said. “You wouldn’t walk to up to a businessman and tell him what a good job he’s doing.”

When he is not wearing the vest, he is just another dog.

“During the day we will have play times,” McLean said. “We will take him out as part of our daily routines. He’ll be getting regular walks during the day — he’s great for the employee wellness program.”

“When he’s home, he’s a regular dog,” she said.