What are Grief Therapy Dogs?

Grief therapy dogs first started appearing in funeral homes in the United States. They are generally owned by the funeral director and attend the funeral or memorial service at the request of the family.

In 2018, the UK’s first grief- therapy dog, Basil the Beagle, also started working at Clive Pugh Funeral Directors in Shropshire. Basil is a ‘comfort companion’ for people who visit them to arrange a funeral and sometimes, at the family’s request, attends the funeral as well.

Grief-therapy can provide a calming presence for people, especially children, who are attending the funeral. They can also relax people who have never attended one before and don’t know what happens at a funeral or who have a fear of funerals. Grief-therapy dogs can also be helpful for supporting a bereaved child who have lost someone very close to them, especially if they are going to speak at the funeral.

Grief-therapy dogs only attend funerals at the request of a family. Their presence is usually sign-posted at the entrance to the venue so that anyone who is allergic to dogs or afraid of them is aware of it. If a large number of people, or anyone very close to the person who has died, would prefer not to have a grief-therapy at the funeral then it is not an appropriate thing to do.

Grief-therapy dogs are still rare at funerals in the UK, but animal-assisted therapy in care homes can be helpful for supporting an elderly person coping with grief.