A three-year-old Labrador support dog named Coop is on standby to assist witnesses as they give evidence in the Cardinal George Pell committal hearing.
The four-week hearing will decide if Cardinal Pell will stand trial on historical sexual offence charges. He is the highest-ranking Catholic official to be charged with sexual abuse.
Witnesses who provide evidence from a remote witness facility will have the option to be accompanied by Coop, who will lie or sit with them as they speak.
Office of Public Prosecutions Victoria solicitor John Cain told SBS News the support dog program for witnesses started last year.
He said during a 12-week pilot of the program, Coop was used to help victims of sexual assault. He has since become a permanent fixture - often helping in court cases.
"The role of the dog is to provide support and comfort to the witnesses - many of whom are stressed, anxious and nervous."
"(Coop) provides a calming influence and enables them to give their evidence more clearly and succinctly with less stress and less anxiety. (The witnesses are) much calmer and more relaxed as they're giving their evidence."
Mr Cain said the use of Coop was subject to the approval of the court. So far the feedback has been positive.
"People are saying what a wonderful initiative it is and how much assistance Coop was to them in giving their evidence," he said.
"We will continue the program at the OPP (Office of Public Prosecutions) in Victoria. If other states are interested in following our initiative, we'd encourage them to do so because the results have been so overwhelmingly good for witnesses."
