SEATTLE — The King County prosecuting attorney’s office announced Friday the passing of Murphy, who served as the Involuntary Treatment Act (ITA) comfort dog for many years.
The nation’s first courthouse dog, Murphy provided comfort for witnesses, prosecutors, defense attorneys, families, court staff, doctors at Harborview and more.
“Murphy was a very good dog; he faithfully, patiently, and effectively served our community for many years,” said King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg. “We thank him for that service. He will be so missed.”
Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney and ITA supervisor Ann Mizuta trained Murphy to do his job for the community.
“I used Murphy on numerous occasions to calm my witness’s nerves so they could go before the Court and present evidence to get an individual suffering from mental illness and in crisis the essential care they so desperately needed,” said Deputy Prosecuting attorney Jocelyn McCurtain. “I can think of numerous examples of Murphy’s work in ITA, however, I will highlight two. First, I brought Murphy in to sit with one witness who was terrified to testify about the everyday terror she experienced due to a neighbor who was in crisis at her apartment complex. Murphy calmly sat and let her pet him, let her rest her hand on him and hug him. He was calm, patient, and simply laid there providing her comfort. Second, there are many times where children have to come in with their parents due to lack of childcare coverage. On one occasion, a young child was brought in with her parents. The child was scared to be in a hospital setting and restless due to the amount of time she was required to sit at the hospital. Murphy came out and sat with her. This alleviated not only the anxiousness of the child, but the additional stress placed on the family that had been watching her.”
Courthouse dogs are trained to assist people with mental disabilities, elderly people, teens and young children when they are called upon to provide courtroom testimony or a witness interview.
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