In Bentleyville, Pennsylvania, a funeral home is trying an unconventional approach to help comfort mourners.
The Marodi family recently adopted a 4-month-old Golden Doodle named Bernie. They’re currently training him to become a certified therapy dog for grieving visitors at the Thompson-Marodi Funeral Home.
After hearing the suggestion from their kids, the Marodis did some research to learn how much dogs can help alleviate stress and sadness. They chose Bernie because his part-Poodle breed means that he hardly sheds and won’t agitate allergies as much as dogs with regular fur.
Watch a video on Bernie:
Although he’s not certified yet, the Marodi’s new employee / pet has already done his fair share of comforting. Once he is fully trained, they hope to take Bernie to other places in the community, like senior centers and nursing homes.
You can keep up with this sunshine-spreading pooch on his Facebook page.
(h/t: Herald – Standard)
