Canadian Lawyer

w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m A U G U S T 2 0 1 8 13 naturally occur when a person is amicably touched by another person. Study participants became more open- hearted, more empathetic and operated with more insight during mediation. "They were better able to resolve their disputes," Paul says. The article fascinated him; but ethical issues loomed. "You can't pump it through the air conditioner," he quips, underscoring the difference between real life and a study. While Paul was in Toronto taking master courses, his wife emailed him a photo of an adorable Standard Poodle puppy. It had been two years since the loss of their last family pet. The fam- ily vacillated over getting another dog because of timing, the emotional impact of losing a family member and new floors in their family house. But the image of the puppy tugged at Paul. "I said get it now before I change my mind," he says. They waited for the pup to be born. On Dec. 25, 2016, the phone rang proclaiming Charlie's arrival a week earlier and delivery date of March 2017. "It was a huge Christmas surprise for all of us," he said, but it was also a joyous one that spurred Paul to look at dogs in mediation. But he could find only one article on dogs in mediation. He approached his advisor, who was thoroughly support- ive of his original topic. "I was told if I wanted an ace paper, I should go to the deepest part of the ocean and explore the unexplored," Paul says. He dove into a depth of literature looking at how dogs worked with early man, medical journals, occupational and psychology and sociology articles. "In all these articles, there was a very strong common theme that dogs had a positive therapeutic effect on people with a dis- ability, who had undergone surgery, had cancer, could not walk, hear or see [and] children with autism," he says. It was during his literature review on how body chemistry changed when dogs were introduced to interact with humans in friendly situations that he struck gold. The oxytocin levels rose. "This was a way of getting more oxy- tocin into the room ethically," he says. Paul knew he was on to something and began writing. His advisor suggested sending it out to peers. Much to his surprise and delight, the Harvard pub- lication picked it up and canine-assisted mediation has since drawn international attention. Research has since given way to devel- oping protocol, such as the suitability of therapy dogs, allergies to be considered and the consent of both parties. If the couple is fighting over ownership of a pet, it is obviously not a good tool. Paul is willing to give seminars on how to implement CAM if other mediators are interested. As for Charlie? "He's a freebie," laughs Paul, as he doesn't do billable hours. "He works for kibble, treats and lots of love." — JEAN SORENSEN \ AT L A N T I C \ C E N T R A L \ P R A I R I E S \ W E S T REGIONAL WRAP-UP ntitled-7 1 2018-07-13 10:44 AM

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