Therapy Puppy Provides Comfort To Grieving Families At Funeral Home

In public spaces like airports, emotional support dogs have become more common. As a result of this new shift, one funeral home is taking advantage of its therapeutic benefits. As WGAL reports, the Macon Funeral Home in North Carolina has now brought in a Bernese mountain dog puppy in order to provide grieving clients with some comfort.

While nine-week-old Mochi isn’t a fully trained therapy dog yet, she’s already having quite the impact. Tori McKay, Macon’s funeral office administrator, has been wanting to bring in a grief-support dog to the business for a decade now. And shortly after her January 4th birthday, the 30-year-old and her husband shared on the funeral home’s website that they “decided that Mochi would make a wonderful addition to our family and this decade of our lives.”

McKay specifically chose a Bernese mountain dog for the role because of the breed’s affectionate personality and relaxed disposition, as well as their successful history as an emotional support animal. Mochi will receive therapy dog training in Asheville when she is between 6 months to a year. The long-term plan is to make her available to families upon request, as well as to take her on visits to nursing homes in order to meet with residents. Until then, this adorable puppy becoming socialized by meeting with guests in a more casual environment.

As a post on the funeral home’s Facebook page already reads, “Stop by and meet her, she loves making new friends!” 

Mochi sounds absolutely adorable. We have no doubt she’ll make a wonderful emotional support dog.