Meet Melissa and Davie!

VSS is proud to announce that we have a new all regions advocate and court house dog!  Melissa and Davie are the latest members of the VSS family and we are excited to share this amazing news with you all. 

Melissa grew up in Iowa on a small hobby farm with horses. She participated in 4H and high school rodeo. She attended the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse and received her Bachelor’s degree in Communication with a minor in Psychology.

She has lived in California for a few years before to moving to Washington. Prior to being hired by VSS, she worked in law enforcement for 11 years.

“My passion for helping others, especially victims of crime, is what led me to apply for the position with VSS.” -Melissa

Her hobbies are running, yoga, hiking, reading and spending time outdoors. Her and her husband also love to travel to other countries and spend time on their boat fishing, crabbing and shrimping. They have another dog named Allegra and now they have welcomed Davie to their family. 

Davie is a two year old yellow lab and some of his favorite hobbies are napping, chewing on sticks and chasing Allegra in our backyard. He is a certified facility dog through the Courthouse Dogs Foundation (www.courthousedogs.org). He completed his training with Brigadoon Service Dogs in Bellingham, WA. 

For those who do not know, a facility dog is defined by Courthouse Dogs as the following:

“A courthouse facility dog is a professionally trained assistance dog, suitable for providing quiet companionship to individuals in legal settings without causing any disruption of the proceedings. As legally neutral companions for victims and witnesses during the investigation and prosecution of crimes, these dogs help individuals feel willing and able to describe what happened and also provide emotional support.”

Davie can assist in the following situations:

  • Police interviews
  • Prosecutor or defense interviews
  • Forensic interviews
  • Courtroom proceedings 
  • Trials
  • Counseling appointments
  • Any other situation that provides support to a victim or witness of a crime

This is an amazing step for VSS and our ability to support our clients. We are so grateful to have Melissa and Davie on our team!