Hatty the dog sworn-in paw first to US legal office; Job profile here

The Illinois state attorney’s office in Chicago held an unusual swearing-in ceremony for a new employee. Why unusual? Because the newly hired office staff is an adorable, 2-year-old dog named Hatty, after hockey's hat-trick. Hatty is a Labrador retriever and will be on a 9-to-5 office schedule. The job profile of the dog is simple and natural to most dogs – show affection to people.

What will Hatty do?

Hatty's job is to ease the strain of criminal proceedings on young children and those with mental health issues who have been victims of assault. She’ll handle up to 200 cases annually. Hatty is the office’s first emotional-support dog and was trained partly by inmates. She has big brown eyes and is joining the second largest prosecutor's office in the United States.

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Hatty was sworn into the Cook County State's Attorney's Office on Tuesday, placing her right paw over a law book during the ceremony. Attorney Kim Foxx presided over the swearing-in. "We are proud to have a resource like Hatty to provide a source of comfort for victims as they navigate this difficult process," the Cook County office said in a tweet.

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A better experience for victims and witnesses

"She's going to come help us with our victims and witnesses that may have some anxiety, trepidation, or nervousness about coming into court," said Kim Foxx. She said that the purpose of this is to make the experience of such people more therapeutic. Foxx also opened up about her powerful personal story of sexual abuse as a child. "I can tell you, for years that I carried that trauma with me. So imagine coming to an institution where you don't know the people and it's not just a welcoming place. I want to bring that experience I've had to try to figure out how we can lessen that anxiety for others."

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Kim Foxx said Hatty is intended to be a calming, stable force for people going through traumatic moments of their lives. "I just really hope that it makes these children feel more comfortable, and build a quicker rapport and immediate rapport that we as humans, and specialists, and attorneys can't necessarily build as quickly as Hatty might be able to," said Stephanie Coelho, a sexual assault victim witness specialist. "It means the world because these are very difficult cases. It empowers these children to take that stand and tell the truth," said Jillian Anselmo, Assistant State Attorney.

(With AP inputs)

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