District Attorney Jim Martin and Victim Witness Chief Kimberly Silvestri recently presented a plaque of appreciation to the Emmaus Animal Hospital staff for continued care and treatment of Ramona, a courthouse emotional support dog.

The hospital staff and Dr. Arthur F. Obenrader Jr. and Dr. Arthur J. Obenrader have donated medical care and other services since Ramona joined the staff of the district attorney’s office in 2017.

Ramona, a black Labrador, has worked with many victims and witnesses to provide comfort during interviews with law enforcement and attorneys as well as during hearings and trials in court.

Silvestri, the head of the District Attorney’s Victim/Witness Unit and Ramona’s handler, said the generosity of the Emmaus Animal Hospital staff has helped keep Ramona happy and healthy so she can continue her critical work with the victims and witnesses of homicides, assaults, sexual assault cases and others, including juvenile victims and witnesses.

“We cannot thank you enough for your treatment and care of Ramona, the hours you have spent with her, the times you have seen her at a moment’s notice and your incredible generosity with respect to the food and the medicine you have supplied us with over the years,” Martin and Silvestri wrote in a letter to Emmaus Animal Hospital, according to a media release.

“Ramona is well loved throughout the community and we know when she comes to see you, she is in excellent hands,” the letter continued.

Although Ramona is so well known at the courthouse and other county sites that employees keep a stash of treats for her, Ramona’s choice of snacks is sometimes questionable. The staff at Emmaus Animal Hospital helped guide Ramona’s follow-up treatment after she ate a Christmas ornament and discovered a previously unknown medical issue resolved with a change in Ramona’s regular dog food.

Ramona was born in 2015 and was raised during her first year of training by inmates of the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women in Jessup, Md.

When she was about 14 months old, Ramona was moved to a kennel at Canine Partners for Life in Cochranville, and worked with professional trainers until she was matched and placed at the Lehigh County District Attorney’s office.

Ramona knows more than 40 commands in both English and Spanish, including how to reward a fist bump with her paw; to retrieve a dropped item and how to push elevator buttons and open push-handle doors.

Ramona not only has a calming effect on a nervous witness or victim, but she can also build rapport with child victims who may be anxious, scared or withdrawn. Helping reduce that child’s anxiety and stress may also help him/her to have better recall and focus.

“Victims of crime face many difficult challenges,” Martin said. “Especially for children and whatever we can do to lessen the tension and put the child at ease is important.”