SANDPOINT — It's hard to deny that Ken, Bonner County's courthouse dog, is cute as can be.

It's also hard to deny that the work he does to comfort the county's youngest victims is invaluable.

Now, thanks to a fundraiser where the Northwest Chapter of Canine Companions for Independence is teaming up with the two local Mountain West Bank branches, you can make sure miniature Kens — each with a personalized vest with Ken's name on it — head home with those youngsters.

Tabbed "Ken's Kids," the project aims to raise enough money to buy 120 plush stuffed dogs that resemble Ken to give to the LillyBrooke Family Justice Center.

The fundraiser kicks off Friday and runs through May 21 at the Sandpoint and Ponderay branches of Mountain West Bank. Each donation of $10 will go toward the purchase of a stuffed dog to hand out to young victims, allowing them to have their very own "Ken."

Peggy Frye, Bonner County forensic interviewer and one of Ken's handlers — as well as Ken — will be on hand Friday from 10 a.m.-noon at the Sandpoint branch of the bank and from noon-2 p.m. at the Ponderay branch.

"Ken, our local celebrity and graduate facility dog from Canine Companions has been comforting children and vulnerable adults as they work their way through the justice system for several years now," said Lilly Mitsui of the local CCI chapter. "Kids, in particular, are often put in compromising positions, being asked to share very difficult details about what they've been through and/or what they've seen or heard."

Ken is able to comfort those children, and enable them to testify about what they've been through.

"Ken creates a special bond with each child he encounters and they love and trust him," Mitsui said.

Centers such as LillyBrooke brings those involved in investigating and prosecuting child abuse cases to the victim, instead of the other way around. As staff interviews victims in a child friendly room, the audio and video is recorded and team members watch from an observation room away from the victim.

Bonner County Prosecuting Attorney Louis Marshall has said the center — and Ken's role — are invaluable in helping children share the details of what's happened. Like adult victims, children aren't eager to talk about what's happened to them. But having a center like LillyBrooke — and forensic interviewers like Frye — leads to better investigations which are less traumatic to young victims. It allows the team members to do their jobs while putting the children first in the process.