Chapel Hill Mortuary now has a furry, four-legged staff member ready to help people with grief.
The funeral home is having Sister Cherish, a 7-month-old, 60-pound German shorthaired pointer, trained as a grief therapy dog.
Chapel Hill Mortuary owner Brian May said he is thrilled to offer a stress reliever to people mourning the death of a family member or friend.
“Pets can detect when people need some comforting,” he said. “It’s sort of a natural instinct with dogs.”
Former Chapel Hill chief operating officer Vicky James, and her husband, Ron, both of Cedar Hill, own the dog, who goes by Sister for short.
“She (Sister) is energetic for sure, but very loving,” said Vicky James, a member of the Jefferson County Council (District 7), who now works as chief advancement officer for Lafayette Industries in Manchester.
James said she and her husband have always owned dogs.
“This is our third German shorthair,” she said. “They are very active dogs.”
Sister is named after Chapel Hill’s nonprofit organization, Cherish, which was established in 2019 and offers grief support services.
The group sponsors the Walk for Children, an annual event that allows parents to honor children they have lost by walking from Northwest High School to the funeral home.
James said Cherish helps cover the cost to train Sister, as well as other expenses related to her care.
James said she serves on the six-person board for the Cherish organization and came up with the idea to allow the funeral home to use her dog for grief therapy.
Sister Cherish was born Sept. 20, 2021, and is being trained by Gateway Canine in Cedar Hill, which is owned by Emily Johnson and Rick Johnson of Dittmer.
“She has got a lot of energy and she’s learning how to channel that,” Emily Johnson said. “She’s been doing good.”
James said Sister already has made some public appearances, including one on April 9 at the Chapel Hill Trivia Night.
“She did really well with the crowd,” she said.
May said the event raised more than $26,000, which will be donated to veterans organizations.
He said Sister is available on request for conferences, wakes, funerals and family farewells held at any of the Chapel Hill locations, including 6300 Hwy. 30 in Cedar Hill; 10301 Big Bend Road in Kirkwood; and 6776 Vo-Tec Road in Bonne Terre.
Veteran Garden
James said people may meet Sister Cherish at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 21, at the Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens cemetery, 6300 Hwy. 30, in Cedar Hill for an Armed Forces Day Tribute and Veteran Garden Dedication.
May said the tribute and dedication are being held to mark the opening of a special section in the cemetery just for veterans to be buried. Seven flagpoles have been added to the cemetery’s new veterans section.
The special section has space for more than 100 graves and room to add on if needed, May said.
About 1,000 veterans already are buried in the cemetery, he said.
“I think it surprised us how important it was for veterans to be able to be buried in an area that was dedicated to them,” May said. “We’re excited about being able to offer it to them.”