Barry, the cemetery support dog

Meet Barry, an important team member at the Drayton and Toowoomba Cemetery. He’s a trained support dog, offering a welcoming wag of the tail to grieving families. I met him at a recent cemetery training day.

When people go into the cemetery office, they’re usually there to organise some sort of memorial for their loved one at the cemetery. It can be a tough time.

Barry’s best mate, Kerena McDonald, works at the cemetery and says Barry ‘breaks the ice’.

“It’s a horrible thing to have happen, to be dealing with the death of a loved one, people are bereaved, they’re upset, and then they have to create a memorial,” she says.

“Barry comes in. He sits next to the people on the chair, and they pat him.

Kerena McDonald, Coordinator, Regional Cemeteries, Toowoomba Regional Council.

“People relax and then they’re able to get a quality product created because they’ve been able to bring themselves back down to Earth and have a wonderful experience within the cemetery space.”

Barry’s a corgi-cross with his own Instagram and has even been nominated for a council customer service award.

He’s also quite partial to snacks. I witnessed this firsthand when a guy sitting nearby picked up a wrapped biscuit. Barry zoomed over upon hearing the crackling plastic.

“He runs freely in the cemetery office. As the girls know, we don’t leave food on tables, cause Barry can jump,” laughs Kerena.

Barry has completed a Public Access Test (PAT), receiving accreditation which allows him to be in public. But not everyone likes or is confident around dogs.

“We have a sign on our front door saying Barry is on duty: ‘If you don’t wish to have him around, please let our staff know.’ We have a space for Barry to go if people are not happy with having him around.”

But a lot of people are very open to having him around. They love being greeted by that happy wagging tail.

“Having Barry in our cemetery has created a great customer experience for everyone that comes into our cemetery office.”

“Some people come into the office specifically to see Barry. He’s the most useful person within the cemetery,” smiled Kerena.