The mood in the Holland courtroom suddenly changed when Sydney walked into the gallery and started wagging her tail.

Tense family members awaiting testimony in an August murder hearing brightened, smiled and talked casually as they petted the black Labrador.

That�s exactly what was supposed to happen.

Sydney, led by her handler and owner Victim Advocate Stephanie Stoddard, was making the rounds to get acclimated to the courtroom environment before Sydney actually started her new job with the Ottawa County Prosecutor�s Office.

�Her work is being petted and to be loved,� Stoddard said last week as the dog stretched out at her feet in Stoddard�s office in Holland.

Ottawa County�s dog is part of the growing Canine Advocacy Program in the state. At least nine counties now have the dogs, according to Dan Cojanu, a founder of the nonprofit program.

He started using dogs in court in 2009.

�This is still relatively new,� Cojanu said. �It�s nice to see it spreading so quickly. It�s really stepping outside the box to help these victims in court.�

Ottawa County�s Sydney will be used for children 12 and under who have to testify in court.

�No one wants to go through the court system, especially the victim, especially a child,� said Stoddard.

�We have found that victims are better able to testify and relate the facts of their traumatic experience to a judge or jury with the comfort dog resting beside them,� said Prosecutor Ron Frantz. �Their �canine friend� assists them by merely being close at hand.�

Ottawa County officials got to see how much the dog helps last year when they borrowed a dog from Ionia County during a criminal sexual conduct trial in Grand Haven.

�We believe we should do whatever we can to reduce the trauma of court appearances for our victims,� Frantz said.

Sydney has not yet been used in court testimony, but has been helpful during the interview and trial preparation process, he said. The dog will serve in Holland, Hudsonville and Grand Haven as needed.

�A dog comes with no biases,� Stoddard said. �She doesn�t care who you are. There�s no judgment with a dog.�

The judge, prosecutor and defense attorney all must agree to let a dog into the court during testimony.

�There is no downside,� said Cojanu, vice president and program director for Canine Advocacy Program. �There is no cost to the child. It benefits the child. It benefits the prosecutor. It benefits the defense � they have a witness who will testify.�

Stoddard is Sydney�s owner. The dog stays with her throughout the day � Sydney wears a blue scarf with the words �Canine Advocacy Program� on it and takes off the scarf when the workday is done. Sydney then heads home with Stoddard, who has another dog there as well.

�There is no taxpayer money with this dog,� she said of Sydney, other than insurance liability coverage, the same used for police dogs. Food, veterinarian care and all other expenses are covered by Stoddard.

Sydney came from Leader Dogs for the Blind in Rochester where she was trained.

� Follow Jim Hayden on Twitter@SentinelJim.