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

Working 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (And Overtime)

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