Top Reasons To Include Therapy Dogs in Funeral Services

One of the emerging and increasingly popular services that funeral homes offer is the use of grief dogs. Notably, most funeral homes that have been offering grief dogs as part of their services for some time agree that the pets are a blessing to the industry, and they are here to stay. However, while services such as funeral cafés and resource centres help families through grief, therapy dogs do more. This article highlights the top reasons you should make therapy dogs part of your funeral service.

Mood Boosters

Funerals are often sombre events, and it can be challenging to cheer up attendees. Most of the time, people keep to themselves during a funeral service. While there is nothing wrong with loved ones being sad during a funeral service, clients would not mind if there was a way you could lift people's moods. It is the reason funeral directors need to make therapy dogs part of their service. Therapy dogs are excellent mood boosters because the mere act of petting them increases serotonin and dopamine levels in the brain. In addition, a well-trained therapy dog will slowly and playfully walk to anybody during a funeral service and boost their mood immediately.

Understand Emotional Needs 

Some people like sitting alone during funeral services and might reject advances from family members. Although grieving in solitude is common, grief counsellors recommend that loved ones find a way to release pent-up emotions for the sake of their psychological well-being. To help clients deal with emotions, you should introduce therapy dogs in your funeral services. Notably, grief dogs have an exceptional sense of emotional intuition and can immediately notice someone who needs company. It is especially the case with children, most of whom remain quiet and struggle to understand the concept of death. For example, a therapy dog will walk to a grieving person and bury its head in the person's lap. Such simple actions go a long way in helping grieving loved ones deal with their emotions.

Boost Business

Although it is difficult to tell how many funeral homes use therapy dogs in their services, the trend has been on an upward trend for a couple of years now because bereaved families love therapy dogs and do not mind their presence during funeral services. It is a strong indicator that the customer base for funeral homes grows if you make grief dogs part of your services.