It’s difficult to resist petting a 2-year-old golden retriever with deep brown eyes, a gentle gaze, and long blonde locks. After all, it’s her job.

Anna is a comfort dog with Trinity Lutheran Church. She is one of about 130 golden retrievers scattered among 25 states in the nonprofit Lutheran Church Charities’ K-9 Comfort Dog Ministry.

As her title suggests, Anna is trained to remain calm and allow those whose hearts and minds are heavy to release some of that tension by interacting with her.

“You can see the stress just drain out of people,” said Nancy Borders, one of the dog’s nine volunteer handlers. “They’ll start talking about Anna, and then eventually they start talking about their own situation. 

“... So many of them just need to talk, and that’s the first step toward healing — just getting your emotions out.”

Anna came to the South Toledo church in July, 2015, and is also part of the Kare 9 Military Ministry that serves veterans. 

She has visited nursing homes, rehabilitation and long-term care facilities, schools, hospitals, churches, funeral homes, private residences, and public events.

She has also been deployed out-of-state to disasters, most recently to Baton Rouge after severe flooding over the summer. Her most intense work was at a shelter housing about 4,000 people.

“We’re talking about thousands of people whose world had been turned upside down. Everything they had left in the world was in two paper bags under a cot,” said Mack Borders, Mrs. Borders’ husband and another of Anna’s handlers. “She gave them something normal. Since their world was totally different than it was a week before, they needed that normal.”

Anna is now getting experience in a new environment at the Lucas County Courthouse. The county prosecutor’s office hopes to use the dog to support two children as they testify in court.

“It’s difficult for anyone to talk about personal issues, especially when you’ve been victimized in a very sensitive nature,” Frank Spryszak, assistant county prosecutor, said.

The children were allegedly abused by father-son duo Timothy and Esten Ciboro, who have been charged with multiple counts of kidnapping, rape, and child endangerment. The younger defendant is so far being allowed to represent himself in court.

“This case involves a circumstance where the individuals could be cross examined by the people who are accused of abusing them,” Mr. Spryszak said.

Though Prosecutor Julia Bates has for several years wanted a dedicated courthouse dog, Mr. Spryszak said the county has never had a comfort dog in court before. He said the difficult circumstances of this case created a good opportunity to seek the use of one.

While Esten Ciboro has not objected to the use of the dog, a court-appointed attorney for his father filed an objection Nov. 17. Common Pleas Judge Linda Jennings is expected to issue a ruling on the matter before a victim competency hearing scheduled for Wednesday.

Janet Hoy-Gerlach is an associate professor in the social work program at the University of Toledo who studies the human-animal bond. She said petting a dog has measurable calming effects like lowering blood pressure and heart and respiration rates, while raising levels of the feel-good hormone Oxytocin.

“Having animals in our lives for comfort isn’t a new idea,” she said. “But now we have the science to back it up. It’s gaining a lot of traction in different service systems as a way of offering support to people.”

In addition to the stress of testifying, courtrooms can be frightening for children and others. But a dog is familiar and normal.

“Bringing dogs into it is really about helping the child to testify with less fear,” Ms. Hoy-Gerlach said. “The idea is that the more at ease the child feels, the more effective the testimony will be.”

Mrs. Bates hopes Anna’s assistance with the victims in this case both inside and outside of formal court proceedings will boost ongoing efforts to obtain a full-time courthouse dog.

“Having Anna here will help people see how it works,” she said. “We’re going slowly, but it’s starting to catch on.”

She said she got the idea after Summit County got a dog in 2013. The dog was so successful, the county now has two canines who support victims in various areas of the criminal justice system.

Additionally, the Children’s Advocacy Center in Toledo has had success with a therapy dog. Nala, a rescued 6-year-old mixed-breed certified through Alliance of Therapy Dogs, has visited the center once or twice a week for the last three years.

“There’s a lot of research that supports animal-assisted therapy with trauma victims, and especially with children,” said owner and handler Kelly Rupp, a crisis counselor at the center.

Ms. Rupp said Nala primarily attends counseling sessions, and has been a great motivator in getting children to go to counseling and encouraging active participation.

“They’re more open to talking about their trauma experience with the dog here,” she said.

The staff has also benefited from Nala’s visits, finding temporary relief from the emotional toll of their jobs and boosting overall morale.

Anna’s training goes well beyond that of a typical therapy dog, her handlers say. Though she does not perform specific tasks, she has undergone thousands of hours of training like that of a service dog. She is unfailingly calm and gentle, no matter the environment or how people interact with her.

“They hug and cry on her for all they’re worth, and she takes all of that emotion in,” said handler Charn Konrath.

Anna does have limits, and can only work so much before she needs a break from the stress. Her release comes in the form of regular playtime.

Demand for Anna is growing. She generally has at least one visit to make daily, and often has multiple places to go in a day. But while her handlers decide where she visits, it’s Anna who identifies the people who need comfort most.

“I don’t know how they do it, but she can sense who has a lot of anxiety and stress and maneuvers her way over there,” Mrs. Konrath said.

Her handlers have witnessed the dog’s impact on people time and again, but struggle to find words to describe the often transformative effect she has.

“It’s amazing to watch and it’s hard to explain to anyone how it happens,” Mr. Borders said.

Contact Alexandra Mester: amester@theblade.com, 419-724-6066, or on Twitter @AlexMesterBlade.

First Published November 27, 2016, 5:00 a.m.