Church bans dog from funeral

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HELSINGBORG, Sweden, March 20 (UPI) -- A Swedish woman said the church hosting her husband's funeral is refusing his final wish, to have his dog attend the service.

Gun Thern, whose husband of 56 years, Willy Thern, 81, died Saturday, said it was her spouse's final wish to have their dog Milo attend his funeral service, The Local reported Tuesday.

"In our 56-year marriage we had, all told, eight dogs," Thern said. "Because we never had any children, they became our girls and boys."

However, Thern said Markus von Martens, the priest at Valluv Church in Helsingborg, told her she could not bring the 9-year-old canine into the facility.

"This is primarily because we have people with allergies. If we allow dogs in the church then we'll be forced to clean up afterwards. That's a big project for a church from the 1100's," von Martens said.