Kindly hound is helper for the grieving
BEAGLE Basil has become Britain’s first funeral therapy dog.
The friendly seven-yearold comforts families as they make arrangements.
Funeral director Rosalinda Pugh said: “Basil puts everyone at ease. It breaks the ice if you have something else to focus upon and talk about.
“You can feel that tension leaving the room.”
Basil recently earned his stripes at an actual funeral - of Edna Bottomley, 93.
In a black bandana, Basil patiently waited for the coffin with Rosalinda, who runs Clive Pugh Funeral Directors in Shrewsbury, Shrops, with her husband.
Edna’s daughter Carol Marshall-Broom said: “Mum was a real animal lover. If she’d met Basil, she’d have loved him.”