How a Psychiatric Service Dog Restored Syreeta’s World
“Life would be very small, very reclusive, if it wasn’t for [Murphy]. I wouldn’t do much of anything. He’s what I needed to make a change.”
— Syreeta, Joybound Shelter to Service Graduate
After retiring from the transportation industry in 2022 following a traumatic workplace mass shooting, Syreeta Moore found her world shrinking. The weight of the event left her deeply shaken, making it impossible to re-enter a work setting and pushing her toward agoraphobia. Determined not to let trauma dictate her future, Syreeta decided to seek help. “I was borderline becoming agoraphobic. But I didn’t want to live like that,” Syreeta recalls. “And I was like, ‘I wonder if I could get a service dog?’” That question brought her to Joybound’s Shelter to Service program, where she was paired with Murphy, a shelter Labradoodle trained to provide psychiatric service support.
Through intensive training, Murphy learned to recognize the subtle physical signals of Syreeta’s anxiety and step in precisely when needed. “When I’m having physical symptoms, I tend to shake my leg, and he notices,” Syreeta shares. “He will come over and rest his head in my lap. He’ll sit there and just kind of put his body weight on me.” That grounding presence has proven transformative. Beyond everyday grounding tasks, Murphy has completed specialized airport and TSA training, enabling the pair to confidently navigate bustling transit environments and regain freedom that once felt entirely out of reach.
Today, Murphy is far more than a service animal. He is Syreeta’s lifeline to the outside world. “Life would be very small, very reclusive, if it wasn’t for him,” she reflects. “He’s what I needed to make a change.” Thanks to the Shelter to Service program giving a shelter dog a second chance and a survivor a fresh start, Syreeta can face the future with confidence, knowing she never has to walk it alone: “I’m going to be okay. And Murphy’s here. He’s got me.”
Watch Joybound’s video featurette on Syreeta & Murphy below:
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