{"id":243587,"date":"2026-04-23T18:20:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T18:20:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/243587\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T18:20:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T18:20:07","slug":"puddles-of-love-k-9-comfort-dog-moriah-brings-calm-to-domestic-abuse-survivors-at-harbor-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/243587\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Puddles of love:\u2019 K-9 comfort dog Moriah brings calm to domestic abuse survivors at Harbor House"},"content":{"rendered":"

ORLANDO, Fla. \u2013 When a survivor flees a domestic violence situation, sometimes words aren\u2019t enough to provide comfort. That\u2019s where the K-9 Comfort Dog Ministry<\/a> steps in, offering quiet support, a calming presence, and unconditional love when it\u2019s needed most.<\/p>\n

News 6 anchor Lisa Bell recently met Moriah, a 7-year-old golden retriever with a big job: helping survivors at Harbor House begin to feel safe again. <\/p>\n

Moriah recently stopped by the News 6 newsroom, instantly lifting spirits with gentle tail wags and warm, reassuring attention. But her mission goes far beyond a friendly hello. She regularly brings comfort directly to people navigating trauma.<\/p>\n

Lisa Bell mingles with Moriah, from Lutheran Church Charities. (Copyright 2026 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n

Moriah\u2019s handler, Greg Register, says her work is the result of extensive preparation.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe started training at eight weeks old,\u201d said Register. \u201cThey go for 2,000-plus hours with different handlers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moriah is one of about 130 comfort working dogs nationwide, provided through. <\/p>\n

What makes Moriah different from many working dogs is right on her harness. Instead of \u201cDo not pet,\u201d it reads: \u201cPlease pet me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s trained literally for anybody, anywhere, anytime,\u201d said Register. \u201cWe\u2019ve had 20 kids basically crawling on her, and she just doesn\u2019t move. So they\u2019re trained to be puddles of love, and they are there just to be present. To give you a moment of peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

News 6 Anchor Lisa Bell poses with Moriah, the comfort dog from Lutheran Church Charities. (Copyright 2026 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n

At least once a month, Moriah and another Comfort Working Dog named Peace visit Harbor House. Their presence can help ease anxiety, calm fears, and remind survivors that they are not alone. <\/p>\n

Register says it\u2019s common to see kids arrive fearful and withdrawn, then transform during the visit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not here to fix anything, we\u2019re not here to solve your issues, we\u2019re just here to have a bridge, a moment of peace, a moment of comfort,\u201d said Register. \u201c(Harbor House) is just such a unique place because you never know which families are going to be there, you never know the age groups you\u2019re going to see, and it\u2019s always just a time of reflection… Many times there\u2019ll be kids in the corner that are very, very scared of the dogs, and you can see they\u2019re going through some trauma. And then, by the time we\u2019re there for an hour, 99% of them have already transposed, they\u2019re playing with the dog. You can just see a change in their attitude, a change their system. And it\u2019s just an amazing revelation to see why you\u2019re there.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Copyright 2026 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ORLANDO, Fla. \u2013 When a survivor flees a domestic violence situation, sometimes words aren\u2019t enough to provide comfort.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":243588,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[5713,70686,1335,139,141,140],"class_list":{"0":"post-243587","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-orlando","8":"tag-domestic-violence","9":"tag-harbor-house-of-central-florida","10":"tag-orange-county","11":"tag-orlando","12":"tag-orlando-headlines","13":"tag-orlando-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=243587"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243587\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/243588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=243587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=243587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=243587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}