Man's
Best Friend Provides Benefits to Clock Funeral Home Families
 Every
morning Max, a 9-year-old Shetland sheepdog, tilts his head up
at his owner’s keys and is ready to go to work at Clock
Funeral Home in Michigan. At 7:30 a.m. he arrives at the funeral
home excited to start his day with his owner Jodi Wright Smith,
director of advance funeral planning at Clock Funeral Home.
“I think Max found his purpose in life
at Clock Funeral Home,” said Smith. “I know Max enjoys
his job because he starts ‘talking’ when we pull into
the funeral home’s driveway, immediately walks around the
funeral home greeting everyone, and then takes his place at the
door,” said Smith.
Max joined the funeral home staff in June 2004,
but not without a little convincing from Smith.
“After I learned one of my good friends
brought their dog to their funeral home daily, I analyzed the
benefits for our families and approached Dale Clock, Clock Funeral
Home owner, about Max working at the funeral home,” said
Smith. “Clock allowed Max to join the staff, but he was
not 100 percent convinced of the benefits.”
A simple “yes” was all that Smith
needed from Clock to get Max enrolled in obedience classes first
and then Therapy Dogs International, Inc. (TDI) to earn his certification.
TDI is a volunteer organization that works to provide comfort
and companionship by sharing dogs with patients in hospitals,
nursing home, and in Max’s case – funeral homes.
“Part of the TDI training was to take
Max to a nursing home and review his demeanor with the elderly,”
said Smith. “We evaluated how he listened to commands, behaved
and offered friendship to the seniors.”
After three sessions with TDI, Max earned his
certification and became an official therapy dog. According to
Smith, his demeanor and temperament is perfect for the funeral
home job. The biggest challenge Max had to overcome was not barking
at the doorbell
 Max
takes on different responsibilities at the funeral home depending
on the situation. During a funeral service, he stays in the lobby
and works with the staff greeting families at the door. When there
is a visitation, he stays with the family in the visitation chapels
and literally works the room going from person to person. When a
family arrives at the funeral home for at-need or preneed arrangements,
Max will follow them into the office.
“This disarms people,
calms them down and breaks the ice,” said Smith. “Many
people are afraid to cry, but for some reason people are not afraid
to cry in front of Max. He has a special gift for consoling people.”
 Of
course, Clock Funeral Home always asks families if they would
like Max at the visitation, at-need or preneed conference. So
far, not one family has said no.
In only a couple of months, Max proved he had
a special gift that only he could give to the families at Clock
Funeral Home. “Max seems to know exactly who is hurting
or having a bad day,” said Smith. “He knows how to
work the crowd.”
Max’s job even takes him out of the funeral
home setting once in a while. Max recently visited a high school
after a student death for grief counseling. “At one point,
there was a circle of boys sitting on the floor around Max. All
the boys were petting him and crying. It was very touching,”
said Smith.
The new Clock Funeral Home staff member is
receiving rave reviews from families and the community. Besides
being featured in the local newspaper and on television newscasts,
families are even writing Max (or his replacement) into their
preneed polices, according to Smith.
Even though Max isn’t getting paid in
dollars, he is rewarded for his hard work. “When Max gets
bored he will beg for biscuits from the funeral home staff,”
said Smith. “He will often receive biscuits from people
that have been to several visitations.”
Max and Smith have proved the benefits a therapy
dog can have in a funeral home. Rest assured that Max will receive
tenure at Clock Funeral Home and comfort many more families when
they need it most.
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