Most people cannot cope with losing a family member or friend. For this reason, Oakey’s Funeral Service of Roanoke, Virginia employed the help of an English Golden Retriever to provide comfort to the grieving.
Sam Oakey, the assistant manager at the Roanoke branch, thought it was a great idea to hire a canine to add to their team’s roster. He is right. Ragnar, or Rags, became the newest member of the Oakey Family.
The first time the four-legged creature appeared in the funeral home, everyone was surprised. After all, a dog seems out of place at a funeral home. But the dog’s presence puts a smile on everyone’s face right off the bat, because the Lab looks like he’s always smiling.
Rags is the perfect buddy for someone who is going through tough and stressful times. His sweet and calm demeanor helps to ease the stress, and anxiety one feels when grieving the loss of a loved one. According to Sam, there have been a lot of times when people have laid on the ground for half an hour petting the dog and have said how much it had helped them.
Therapy dogs have an inborn capacity to recognize and respond with love and compassion on the emotional needs of the person. Since many of these feelings may be experienced by those who are grieving, therapy dogs are the perfect support to relieve anxiety and confusion of death. The presence of the therapy dog can distract, even if for one or two minutes, from stress and sorrow.
Rags services cost nothing and are available to all of Oakey’s clients. The pooch is often requested to help with the kids who have difficulty expressing their feelings.
Rags is still on his journey to becoming a licensed grief therapy dog. Only recently, he completed his obedience training and earned the Canine Good Citizen Certificate.
Source: Oakeys