A four-legged friend will soon be roaming a Carbon County courtroom hoping to bring comfort to those around her.

When his daughter asked for a dog, Carbon County Judge Joseph Matika saw the request as the perfect opportunity.Knowing the implementation of veterans treatment court was right around the corner, Matika agreed to add the pet to his family, if he could have her trained and bring her to work with him."When we were first looking at veterans treatment court, we went up to Lackawanna County, and they had a therapy dog in the courtroom," Matika said. "It was trained to sense if people were stressed or nervous and it would sit next to them, comforting them and hopefully making them feel more at ease."Fast forward to last week, and Matika and his family picked out 9-week-old Lexie, a Shetland sheepdog.One of the brightest dogs, Shetland sheepdogs rank sixth out of 132 breeds for their intelligence."We're hopeful to find some grant money to get Lexie trained as a therapy dog," Matika said. "The timing all kind of worked out, and we're anxious to see how this goes."According to the Courthouse Dogs Foundation, interacting with dogs releases the stress-reducing oxytocin hormone.Courtroom dogs have been used in other ways across the country, such as helping young crime victims tell their stories.For now, however, Matika said Lexie's role will be limited to veterans treatment court.With many veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, the presence of dogs is a way to provide comfort in what can often be an overwhelming venue.Having had the opportunity to see a therapy dog in action in the courtroom, Matika is confident it can work in Carbon County."I joked with our former court administrator Roberta Brewster because when we were up at Lackawanna, their dog sat next to her about six times," he said. "She did admit that she was nervous. But in all seriousness, it did seem to comfort the veterans. Their body language changes when the dog is around. It takes your mind off things."Lexie's training will hopefully be paid for using a grant.On Thursday, the commissioners voted to apply for a $1,600 grant to the Veterans' Trust Fund, Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, for the training and supplies needed for the therapy dog. The grant does not require matching funds.