Meet Davie, renowned agent of comfort and joy at the Whatcom County Courthouse
Facility dog Davie is a common sight at the Whatcom County Courthouse. Whether he’s sitting with crime victims in the courtroom to provide support or simply wandering the Prosecutor’s Office cubicles looking for treats, the 7-year-old golden retriever and yellow lab mix takes his role as facility dog seriously.
Davie is the first and only service dog at the Whatcom County Courthouse, though he may soon be getting a new four-legged coworker thanks to a recent $10,000 donation from Dawson Construction. His calendar — yes, he has his own — is often booked with crime victims, especially children, seeking his support during interviews, trials and other hearings.
Melissa Isenhart, Victim/Witness Unit coordinator with the Prosecutor’s Office, is Davie’s owner and handler. She said last year Davie attended 225 meetings and court proceedings to support 145 individual victims.
“He just brings joy even in an awful circumstance,” Isenhart said. “We’ve seen time and time again just how much people love him.”
Davie graduated from a two-year training program run by Brigadoon Service Dogs in 2020. He was selected by the program for his temperament and was trained from the start with the goal of working in a courthouse. Isenhart said a lot of his training was done by an incarcerated person in partnership with Brigadoon.
Davie knows commands like “visit,” which involves him resting his head on someone’s leg. He also learned how to lay silently at people’s feet in the courtroom, even during long trials.
The first courthouse dog in Washington was introduced in King County about 20 years ago. Their roles in the courtroom are outlined in state law, which dictates how the dogs are allowed to carry out their tasks. It also states that victims under age 18 must be allowed to have the dog in court, while adults must get permission from a judge.
Isenhart said that since Davie began his work in Whatcom County in 2022, she’s only seen one request denied.
“He totally gravitates to the people who need him in a room,” Isenhart said. “He can sense the stress or whatever feeling or emotion is coming off people.”
Isenhart got Davie while working at the nonprofit Victim Support Services, which applied for a grant for a support dog. Isenhart was selected as his handler. When the nonprofit later lost funding, Isenhart was allowed to keep him.
So when she got a job with the Whatcom County Prosecutor’s Office, she brought Davie with her. She said he will likely work in the courthouse until he’s 12 before retiring.
“Everybody in this building knows who he is and loves him,” Isenhart said.
If all goes to plan, the courthouse will likely have an additional dog in about two years.
This story was originally published November 22, 2025 at 11:46 AM.