MANDEL: After years together, handler loses custody of Toronto’s first therapy dog

Roman Dabrowski, who spent years as Victim Services volunteer and Dandy's handler, also ordered to pay legal fees

Published Sep 08, 2026  •  Last updated 6 hours ago  •  3 minute read

Dandy, Toronto's first therapy dog, with her handler Roman Dabrowski. Photo by LinkedIn

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Roman Dabrowski spent years as a volunteer with Victim Services and as the handler of Dandy, Toronto’s first therapy dog.

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When he and the beloved yellow Labrador both retired in February 2024, Dabrowski believed he had an oral agreement with Dandy’s owner Bobbie McMurrich — who had temporarily loaned her dog to victim services in 2017 — that would allow them to continue living together as they had for years.

Instead, he was taken to court by Victim Services in a unique animal custody case.

In a recent decision, the Court of Appeal confirmed a lower-court ruling that ordered Dabrowski to surrender the 11-year-old Dandy — short for Dandelion — to McMurrich.

Dandy, Toronto’s first therapy dog. Photo by LinkedIn

‘Fought hard for her’ in court

“I fought hard for her. Today the courts ruled against us,” Dabrowski wrote on Sept. 1 on social media.

“We worked together, lived together, played together, ate together, sat in court together, sat with the vulnerable, the victims, the hurt. Together. 24/7.

“Put smiles on officers’ faces before they went out into the crazy world. Consoled them when they lost one of their own. Helped patients make it through long hospital stays. Helped kids panicked by school violence. Provided calm for our 911 operators.

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“But I knew when it was time for her to retire … time for her to relax. That’s what this was all about.

“I was lucky enough to have Dandy for 2 1/2 years into her retirement and every day was a blessing. At this point in her life, I sincerely hope that no one’s going to force her to continue to work.”

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‘Heartbreaking and shameful’ decision

In the comments, supporters were shocked that the two were being separated.

“This ruling is absolutely contrary to what is so clearly in the best interests of this dog,” wrote a retired Sunnybrook trauma counsellor. “Our courts are obsolete in their practice in this field and it’s heartbreaking and shameful.”

Last December, Superior Court Judge Edward Iacobucci found there was no enforceable oral agreement about either the custody or transfer of legal ownership of Dandy after she retired. He ordered the dog returned to Victim Services and then to McMurrich. Neither could be reached for a comment.

The judge also ordered Dabrowski to pay $29,000 toward the other side’s legal costs. His sister started a GoFundMe campaign, but it raised only $1,485.

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Dandy, Toronto’s first therapy dog. Photo by LinkedIn

Ex-handler ordered to cough up more legal fees

After last year’s decision, the dejected Dabrowski turned to social media as he faced losing the dog who has been with him for more than half her life. “Who stands up for Dandy?” he asked.

“She’s helped hundreds of people stand up for themselves to talk to police officers, to juries, to judges, to lawyers and tell their stories,” Dabrowski said on Instagram after the decision last year. “Now she gets treated like an old toaster, as property, not the being that she is.”

He vowed to fight on. “I want to make sure that she lives out her life in a way that doesn’t cause her confusion, grief and depression,” he wrote. “Dogs provide us so much in our lire. They should not be treated like property!”

But his appeal was quickly dismissed. At Ontario’s highest court, Justice David Paciocco found the judge made no errors and also ordered the retired dog handler to pay a further $8,000 in legal costs.

“I want to thank absolutely everybody who supported me, supported Dandy and knew we should have been together,” he wrote on social media.

“I will miss her.”

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