DENVER — Steve Cearley and his dog Shanti made their way down the airport concourse in matching blue plaid vests, prompting travelers to glance up from their computers and cellphones. After two airport employees stopped to fuss over Shanti, an 88-pound Great Pyrenees with long, white fur, Cearley, a full-service dog handler, passed around a lint brush.
When “you’re petting a dog, you’re not thinking about other stresses,” Cearley said. “Like whether your plane is late.”
With the holiday travel season in full swing, bitter complaints about the state of air travel in America fill the air like Christmas carols.
So, a growing number of airports are looking to lighten the psychological load, offering a comforting cadre of volunteers with wet noses and wagging tails.
Last month, Denver International became the 31st airport in America to launch a “therapy dog” program, featuring a wide variety of hounds specially trained to interact with people. Operating on the theory that animals can help calm people in stressful situations, the pooches roam the concourses in their custom-made vests emblazoned with the words “Pet me.”
“Travelers are not in a great place, and holding or petting a dog makes a difference in their day,” said Heidi Huebner, director of volunteers at Los Angeles International Airport, who keeps track of therapy dog programs at airports across the nation.
In Denver, the program is known as the Canine Airport Therapy Squad, or CATS. Since November, 28 registered therapy dogs have been roaming the airport with their owners, who are volunteers.
On a recent weekday, Michael Boyer sat cross-legged on the floor in the middle of a busy concourse and smiled as he petted a coffee-colored dog named Radar.
“I love dogs, and I hate airports,” said Boyer, 29, who was waiting to catch a flight to Chicago.
The American Humane Association recently released a guide for airports interested in implementing a program, said Amy McCullough, national director of humane research and therapy at the association. The guide cites studies done in hospitals, nursing homes and schools that show that petting a therapy dog can lower people’s blood pressure and reduce their stress and anxiety.
The American Humane Association’s involvement in animal-assisted therapy dates to 1945, when therapy dogs aided soldiers recuperating in military hospitals. The concept arrived in airports after the 9/11 terrorist attacks when an interfaith chaplain volunteer brought her therapy dog to Mineta San Jose International Airport, hoping it would ease travelers’ anxieties.
In Denver, tThe CATS team is made up of 14 breeds. The largest dog is a 160-pound Newfoundland; the smallest is an 11-pound Jack Russell terrier.
All of the dogs are registered and insured by the Alliance of Therapy Dogs, which requires each dog to be in control and have good manners — “no aggression or excessive licking, jumping or pawing,” said Billie Smith, executive director of the organization, based in Cheyenne, Wyo.
