To Comfort Grieving Families This Funeral Home Adopted A Bernese Mountain Dog

By Mayukh Saha / Truth Theory

Death is never a happy event. More so, if it involves the death of a family member. We all know what happens to us when we are witnessing someone’s funeral. Tears roll down our eyes and we are barely able to control ourselves from completely breaking down. To prevent grieving families from losing control and breaking down haplessly, Macon Funeral Home has brought in a Bernese Mountain dog to pour some affection. Mochi the Mountain dog would now help the grieving families slowly get over their loss. And this news was brought by Tori Mckay, who is not only Mochi’s owner but also the administrator of the Funeral Home.

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The official post mentioned that Mochi was an 8-week old dog who would be part of the grief therapy team with Tori Mckay. And the funeral home would like to hope that Mochi actually plays a major part in relieving people of their grief.

Tori Mckay stated that a Bernese mountain dog was perfect as a grief therapy dog for they were extremely affectionate and gentle dogs who loved getting cuddles and belly rubs. Also, this had been on her mind for quite some time. Interestingly, when she brought it up before the other workers at Macon Funeral Home, they had no objections about it. And then arrived Mochi.

Although this cute little puppy is yet to receive any formal training (which she will at Asheville when she turns 6 months old) this hasn’t stopped her from making some severe impacts on the lives of people who reach out. Learning from Tori Mckay, this Bernese Mountain dog is being trained with all the skills necessary.

Also, Bernese Mountain dogs have one of the shortest life spans amongst most other dogs- 6-8 years. So before Mochi passes away, Tori believes that she ought to make Mochi’s life purposeful. As her owner, it is her responsibility to ensure that her life doesn’t go to waste.

Bernese Mountain dogs are one of the 4 breeds of dogs in Switzerland which are specifically bred for herding and farming. These dogs came to the USA in 1927 and were formally accepted in 1936. Fortunately, Bernese mountain dogs have an exceptionally calm disposition that makes them an integral part of any household. If they receive proper training, they would be very useful to not just the domestic life, but also the agrarian household.

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Therapy dogs have been on a major rise for quite some time now, primarily owing to the many benefits that they provide. There are several programs that teach dogs how to be therapy dogs. But even then, not everyone can be one. There are very few breeds of dogs that qualify as therapy dogs, and every single dog has to meet the following criteria.

1. They need to be able to handle precarious situations, such as when someone grabs their tail, or have jerky movements.
2. Obedience and the ability to interact with people.
3. Should never be aggressive around older people or kids.
4. Should have the training to listen and follow commands that were very basic in nature.
5. Shouldn’t shirk away when a stranger pets them.

Being a therapy dog isn’t easy. But for a Bernese mountain dog like Mochi, it should be a cakewalk.