assistant and a 110-pound Great Pyrenees who walks the halls, attends grief support groups and assists funeral director Candace Hawkins with making funeral arrangements. “He is very attuned to people’s emotions,” Hawkins said. “If someone is sobbing, he will just walk up and put his head in their lap.” Willow also attends funerals and visitations and special events, but Hawkins says his most valuable role is in those early moments when grief is still raw and jagged and families are faced with the task of having to make the decisions around funeral arrangements. “I call in advance to ask, ‘Are you a dog person?’” Hawkins said. “Ninety-nine percent of the time, they’re like, ‘Oh, yes. We love dogs.’” Molly from the Evan J. Strong Funeral Home in Calgary, Alberta (photo courtesy Evan J. Strong Funeral Services) www.ogr.org | The Independent® 19
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