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Turks the comfort dog is the 'best part of the Cosby trial'

The yellow Labrador retriever has helped comfort jurors and prosecution witnesses during the Cosby trial.

Turks joined the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office in 2014.
Turks joined the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office in 2014.Read moreHandout

The most beloved figure in the retrial of Bill Cosby, which ended in a conviction Thursday, may be a dog from the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office.

Turks, a yellow Labrador retriever who has her own Twitter account, has helped comfort jurors and prosecution witnesses. One of the witnesses, Judith Regan, tweeted last week that the dog was the "best part of the Cosby trial."

Cosby's chief accuser, Andrea Constand, also tweeted about Turks.

Judge Steven T. O'Neill said Thursday morning he had brought the alternate jurors back from the hotel — where they have been staying since deliberations started — because they wanted to play with Turks.

>> Read more: Bill Cosby jury deliberations continue into 2nd day

O'Neill said he didn't want the alternates to feel forgotten. They got an hour of play time before being sent back to hotel.

During the first week of the trial, O'Neill told jurors, "The court's comfort dog came to have a visit over lunch. I am expecting that we can continue to do that at breaks and the like. We have Sudoku, cryptogram and I really want to do the best that I can do make sure that we are comfortable."

Turks joined the district attorney's office in 2014 to help reduce the stress and anxiety that crime victims and witnesses sometimes experience during court proceedings. The office collaborated with Canine Partners for Life, an agency in Chester County, to obtain Turks.

Read the latest on the Cosby trial here. Keep up with every development with our day-by-day recaps, timeline, and explainer on everything you need to know about the case and its major players.

Staff writers Jeremy Roebuck and Laura McCrystal contributed to this article.