PORTLAND, Oregon — When someone dies, loved ones almost certainly experience grief and pain. At Finley Sunset Hills Mortuary & Sunset Hills Memorial Park in Southwest Portland, the staff members' goal is to ease that burden. Lately, they've been getting help from a special dog named 'Finney,' a 7-month-old English Cream.
"In your most difficult time, you see the fluffy head and big eyes looking up at you — it's that, 'Oh! There's a puppy!'" said Shannan Speicher, Finney's owner and general manager of Finley Sunset Hills. "It takes them out of that all-encompassing grief moment that they're in."
If not a bereaved loved one, staff members shared that they often need a lift as well. They said their work can feel very heavy, despite training and coping mechanisms.
"Maybe someone was young or maybe [their death] was unexpected," said Kjersti Barrios, a family service counselor on staff. "That's always the hardest... [I was] not really dealing very well before Finney."
Speicher said realizing that led her to get Finney.
"People come into my office where (Finney) is a lot of the time and they say, 'I need some Finney time; I need some puppy time,'" shared Speicher.
Family service counselor Kathy Liskey recalled a recent time when Finney helped her.
"About a week ago, I had kind of a rough go," said Liskey. "(Speicher) brought Finney in, and I was able to kind of hold her and process and walk through... I think more places should have support animals. I think there should be a lot more ways of having a healthier way to support mental health and having people be able to express it."
After spending time with Finney, it's clear that the puppy comes by most of her sweetness, naturally. But she's also in training. Speicher has her eyes set on Finney becoming a Canine Good Citizen. The American Kennel Club offers the certification, which stresses good manners.
"We want Finney to be able to greet people and really show them that unconditional love, happiness, outpouring of joyful," said Speicher. "Emotions that aren't always present in a funeral home."
There's nothing anyone can do to stop death. It is, as they say, part of life. But when you're walking through the pain, having a soft place to land one's emotions doesn't hurt — and it doesn't get much softer than Finney.
"I think she knows that she's there to help you," said Barrios. "I think it's going to make a huge difference to people's lives."
This story is part of our series, "Pacific Storyland." From the ordinary to the extraordinary, we'll bring you the most heartwarming and inspiring stories from where you live. Know someone you'd like to see featured? Let us know! Email us at pacificstoryland@kgw.com or text your story ideas to 503-226-5088.