Court's best friend
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Fancy, the 18th Judicial District's courthouse facility dog. Photo: Robert Sanchez/Axios
Fancy is the goodest girl. And not just because of her sleek black fur, wet nose or daffodil collar.
- Or because she spent much of our interview sitting on my feet.
The big picture: Six-year-old Fancy is a courthouse facility dog for the 18th Judicial District Attorney's Office, helping people through some of the hardest moments of their lives.
- She's a Labrador retriever-golden retriever mix trained by Canine Companions.
- She enjoys belly rubs, watermelon and a structured five-day workweek.
Flashback: The 18th was Colorado's first district attorney's office to launch a courthouse facility dog program, starting in 2012.
- Fancy took over in 2021.
How she works: Fancy first meets with a witness, victim or, in some cases, a defendant, to see whether she's a good fit.
- Then they do a courtroom test run.
- On testimony day, Fancy quietly settles behind the witness stand, out of sight of jurors and everyone else in the courtroom.
Context: Fancy works with lots of people — including two adults during the 2025 James Craig murder trial.
- And she joined other dogs that supported students and families following last year's Evergreen High School shooting.
Why it matters: Fancy's job is to make a traumatic experience a little less traumatic, her handler Amber Urban says.
- "Fancy comes into a room and [the victim] becomes a different person — they open up."
Reality check: Urban admits she still worries about a sneeze, a loud scritchy-scratch during testimony — or doggy gas.
- To mitigate risk, treats are strictly monitored.
The bottom line: "It's not about prosecution or defense, it's about the trauma of the system and trying to make it better for the participants," Urban says.
- "Fancy doesn't care where you came from or what you did — she's just there for you."
📍 I'm profiling our neighbors — and furry friends — one street at a time. If you know someone interesting, drop me a treat, 🦴