04/20/2026
Canine Ari and handler Rebecca Petty bring comfort to children in Northwest Arkansas, River Valley courtroomsPenny Weaver
NWA Online
VAN BUREN -- Testifying in a courtroom during a jury trial is an intimidating proposition for adults, let alone children.
That's why Rebecca Petty and Ari the Advocate do the work they do.
Petty is a certified facility dog handler and Ari is a certified courthouse facility dog. They have worked with child witnesses in two criminal trials in Crawford County since December.
"Our favorite four-legged advocate and our county's favorite pup hero!" reads a post on the Crawford County Prosecuting Attorney's Office page. The post was made Tuesday, which was Ari's fifth birthday. "The impact you make on victims, children, our office and everyone who meets you is immeasurable. Thank you for bringing comfort, healing, and so many smiles to everyone you meet!"
From their office in the Benton County Courthouse in Bentonville, Petty and Ari serve several area counties, one of multiple sets of handler-dog duos serving as part of Paws for Justice of Arkansas.
The statewide program is run out of the Office of the Prosecutor Coordinator in Little Rock. It provides the certified facility dogs to assist victims of crime and young witnesses during investigative interviews and court proceedings.
"We generally will work with children or vulnerable adults," Petty said as she and Ari paused a few minutes for an interview on his birthday. "He'll come in and meet the child at the beginning, during the investigation period and then he'll stay with that child through the whole process."
Of course, Ari's not serious all the time.
"Sometimes we could have a play date so the child can just play," Petty said.
STARTED TOGETHER
Ari is half black Labrador and half golden retriever. He was trained by Canine Companions, a national group that helps provide service dogs for people with disabilities and for public service at no charge to the recipients, the organization states on its website.
Petty has been Ari's handler since he was just a few months old.
"Ari was born in this program," Petty said.
As for Petty, she served in the Arkansas Legislature from 2015 to 2020. She has long been a staunch advocate for children, particularly since her 12-year-old daughter, Andria Brewer, was killed in 1999 by the girl's uncle, Karl Roberts. Roberts currently sits on the state's death row.
Puppies in the Canine Companions program spend their first eight weeks with their mothers and then promptly head out for training, later including "puppy college," so they can learn their trade.
This pair first met at a Texas training facility, Petty said.
"I looked at him, and he looked at me, and it just worked out," she said. "So I went home with him."
'THEY'RE REALLY SCARED'
Petty and Ari work in eight judicial districts in Northwest Arkansas and visit courtrooms, including the Crawford County Circuit Court.
The pair were on hand to aid juvenile witnesses in a December child sexual abuse trial at the courthouse in Van Buren. Then on March 26, Ari stayed close to a young witness in the March 26 trial for Lukas Yarberro, who was found guilty of r**e involving a child under age 14.
"The brave victim also took the stand with the help of Ari the Advocate as did her family and experts," prosecutors noted on the Crawford County Prosecuting Attorney page after a jury convicted Yarberro.
Petty carries a slim, circular dog bed with her. When in court or under the witness stand, Ari keeps at least 75% of his body on that bed, as per his training.
"He knows when he's on that bed under the stand not to get any more than 25% of his body" off the bed, Petty said. "He's never had trouble doing that at all. We just bring it to take the anxiety away from kids.
"I've seen it work so many times because they're really scared," she said. "You know, most people, when they go through the court system -- even I think as an adult -- it's stressful. It's scary. So to have a dog under the stand with them helps."
'IT'S JUST DEVASTATING'
Ari's hobbies include chasing Frisbees, playing fetch, learning new tricks and taking long naps, according to Petty. He hates thunder and storms.
He's required to work 20 hours a week, and it's not hard for him to stay busy all the time, she noted.
"If we're not here in this office or in court, I do a lot of practice with him just in open court that doesn't have anything to do with us," Petty said. "Some of the judges really like him being there. Some of them don't like it at all."
The emotional work Petty and Ari do is both rewarding and can bring heartache: The December case in Crawford County -- in which Ari was under the stand when the primary juvenile accuser testified -- ended with a not guilty verdict.
The young accuser was devastated. After the verdict was announced and the jury and others had left the courtroom, the child's wailing cries could be heard throughout the courthouse.
Petty said Ari had not worked on a case with a witness in Crawford County up to that point in which the defendant was acquitted.
"She started screaming and weeping, and even he didn't know what to do. Oh, he was so heartbroken," Petty said. "I just had to grab his bed (and we left) because she started a little bit kicking and screaming, and he wants to comfort her because that's where he's trained to be. That's his job.
"And I thought, 'I don't know what to do,'" she said. "So I just grabbed his bed. They didn't teach me what to do in that situation. And it's -- it's just devastating."
'I HAVE TO LOOK OUT FOR HIM'
But the heart-warming moments come almost daily, Petty said. Many children write notes to Ari after he works with them, saying things like, "I couldn't have done it without him" and "I was so scared except he was at my feet and I felt better."
The children also write things like, "It's so funny when you speak and play games" and "It's so funny when you lick me to pieces."
Both Petty and Ari have take care of themselves, too, since they are involved in cases that involve serious crime and abuse.
"The emotions go up and down the leash," Petty said. "At times I have to look out for him."
The pair will take a break for a day after a long trial, for example.
"We'll stay at home, and we'll do training, and we'll take a long walk," Petty said, "making sure that he's OK and making sure that I'm OK."
'WE ALL LOVE ARI'
One of the most memorable cases on which Petty and Ari have assisted involved a young boy's testimony in a trial related to the attempted homicide of his mother.
"We worked with the son because he had to testify," Petty said. "We worked with him through the whole thing.
"When he testified, we waited outside the courtroom," she said. "And when he came out, he was crying and I was there with Ari and this kid falls on his knees and wraps his arms around Ari, and he says, 'I did it, boy! I did it!'
"And everybody cried."
Lupe Ayala, lead victim witness coordinator for the Crawford County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, said Ari is such a hit there that they have an "Ari Room" where they interview victims.
"He comes in and the kids interact with him and play games. He will just lay there," Ayala said. "It does help a lot with the kids."
Ari senses when something stressful is going on, but stays "mellow," according to Ayala, who has worked in the prosecutor's office for more than three years. She said he is successful in helping young witnesses.
He often will put one paw on an adult, too, as if he knows they need the support, she said.
"We all love Ari," Ayala said.
Penny Weaver can be reached by email at [email protected].
Ari, a certified courthouse facility dog, rests until he is needed during a March sexual abuse trial at the Crawford County Courthouse in Van Buren. Visit rivervalleydemocratgazette.com/rvphotos for today's photo gallery. (River Valley Democrat-Gazette/Penny Weaver)
