US Funeral Homes Offer Dogs To Help Bereaved Family Members Cope With Death

More funeral homes in the US are using dogs to help family members who lost a loved one to death by lightening the tense and awkward atmosphere during a wake or burial rite. Funeral service adds to the tasks that trained therapy dogs perform aside from visiting schools, nursing homes and medical centres.

One such funeral home is the Krause Funeral Home and Cremation Service in Milwaukee. Mark Krause, owner and president of the home, actually purchased in 2001 Oliver, a Portuguese water dog, as family pet. Initially, his wife trained Oliver to be a therapy dog. The couple estimates the animal has probably touched a thousand families when the wife suggested bringing the dog to the funeral home.

Among the grieving people that Oliver helped was a 7-year-old boy whose 3-year-old sister died that led the child to stop talking to everyone, including his parents. Krause shares, “The minute the dog came in the boy started talking to him about his sister. This little boy tells the dog, ‘I don’t know why everyone’s so upset, my sister said she’s fine where she is,’” quotes Associated Press.

In New York, a recent court decision permitted therapy dogs to accompany children in courtrooms in the state, reports The New York Times. On June 9, the Brooklyn district attorney’s office allowed a therapy dog to accompany an adult in a New York City courtroom at a rape trial.

The dog, a 5-year-old Australian Labradoodle named Paz, helped a 30-year-old woman testify against her rapist, 36-year-old Yohannes Anglin, sentenced to 60 years prison term by Justice John Ingram, who allowed Paz in the courtroom on Tuesday. The woman and her 5-year-old daughter were bound by duct tape, assaulted and kept in a place for five months in 2012 by Anglin.

Dogs have been allowed in courtroom in other states, but it was the first time it happened in New York, said Charley Bednarsh. Paz’s services was contracted by Bednarsh, the director of children services at the Brooklyn Family Justice Center.

While there is no statistics on how many therapy dogs are used in funeral homes, Jessica Koth, spokeswoman of the National Funeral Directors Association, said that anecdotes circulate that more members are bringing not only dogs but other therapy animals such as cats to funerals. Some are certified therapy animals, while others are just well-behaved family pets.

Krause added that when it was the turn of Oliver to die in 2011, about 150 people attended the dog’s funeral. Tom has been replace by Benny, also a Portuguese water dog.

To contact the writer, email: vittoriohernandez@yahoo.com