The delays, the lost bags, the long lines for coffee—any day at the airport can mean a frustration or two. Wouldn’t it be nice to see a friendly face during a trudge down the concourse? Make that a friendly furry face, and suddenly a hectic travel day feels a little bit easier.
That’s the idea behind Denver International Airport’s Canine Airport Therapy Squad’s (CATS) program, the largest organization of its kind, among airports in more than 30 U.S. cities, including Los Angeles, Cincinnati, Salt Lake City and Charlotte, where similar programs have proven wildly popular.
With 121 therapy pups and, yes, one actual cat, DEN trotted out the CATS effort three years ago as a way to “provide passengers with an elevated experience,” says Lisa Dittberner, who manages the airport’s volunteer programs. “Seeing a dog immediately takes them out of their current state of mind, thinking about seat assignments or whether their bags are going to make it,” Dittberner says. “Seeing an animal that you can actually pet in an airport is something special.”
Related: The Healing Power of Horses: How Equine Therapy Benefits Veterans, Victims of Abuse More
On a recent connection through Denver, frequent flier Callie Langton of Omaha, Nebraska, paused briefly to love on CATS dog Shelby, a golden retriever. It was the perfect pick-me-up as Langton boarded a flight for a business meeting, happily “covered in dog hair” afterward.
“I spend a lot of time in airports for work, and the therapy dogs are such a bright spot in a day where almost everyone you encounter is, at best, grumpy,” she says.
Staffed by volunteers and their certified therapy pets, CATS handlers and their loyal companions work in two-hour shifts, wearing matching vests and circulating at various gates, making new friends and passing out trading cards featuring fun facts about each pet. More than 50 breeds, including Newfoundlands, Jack Russell terriers, dachshunds, German shepherds, poodles and border collies, make up the CATS roster.
There’s Cody, a carrot-loving goldendoodle; Shogun, a Bernese mountain dog who enjoys both hiking and napping; and Violet, a plucky French bulldog who can’t stand squirrels. Each animal delivers a happy little dose of personality while prompting smiles and sniffing out the people who need them most. Whether it’s someone returning home from a funeral, a passenger fearful of flying or a traveler who just said goodbye to a friend, these intuitive pets often know right where to go.
“They just sense it,” says Jim Stimson, 70, who volunteers twice a month at DEN with Martha, his 5-year-old cream golden retriever. He acknowledges that during some visits, the CATS members simply lift spirits among harried travelers, but on certain days, the therapy animals work a remarkable sort of magic.
Related: Mini Therapy Horses Bring Joy Wherever They’re Needed
Stimson recalls Martha meeting a passenger who, he later learned, was flying through Denver for the first time since losing two friends in the 2017 shooting tragedy in Las Vegas.
“She gave us ‘the eye,’” Stimson says of the distinct glance that signals a passenger’s interest in meeting a CATS animal. “We talked to her, and pretty soon she was sitting on the floor, and Martha’s head was in her lap. She said, ‘This dog really senses me.’”
“It’s amazing to me how dogs can detect pain,” Stimson says. “And they’re just naturally good at easing it.”
While the CATS partners do sometimes encounter exceptional situations that call for a little extra care, they’re always good at distracting travelers from the typical hassles of a day at the airport.
Carol O’Saben, a psychologist in Flagstaff, Arizona, says the stressful and unpredictable airport atmosphere benefits significantly from the comfort of CATS and programs like it.
Related: Here’s What it Takes for Your Pet to Be a Therapy Animal
“Therapy animals in an airport setting can be beneficial for travelers with emotional and mental health concerns, as well as the broader population, because travel is anxiety-provoking,” she says. “Having therapy animals available is one way to divert a person’s focus from the chaos of the environment to the interaction with an animal and help the traveler better manage their own anxiety.”
And the simple act of petting an animal, O’Saben says, has proven therapeutic advantages, including lowered heart rate, slowed breathing and reduced blood pressure—all physiological responses that can minimize tension.
Related: Traveling With Fido? Check Out These 10 Pet-Friendly U.S. Airports
“Airports also can be a place of heightened emotions because of the stress created by traveling,” she says. “It is possible that having therapy animals available to interact with travelers can help to lower some of those emotions and create a more friendly and amicable airport environment.”
Dittberner says that’s one reason volunteers are encouraged to study departure information and head to gates where flights are delayed—particularly in areas where families are traveling with children.
“It’s a huge thing—you’ve just found out your flight isn’t leaving when you thought it would, but you look over and see a dog, and maybe you forget about that for a minute,” says Dittberner.
For Stimson, watching those interactions, large and small, between his Martha and airport travelers is always rewarding.
“It’s like when your kid comes home with straight A’s or hits the winning homerun,” he says. “You just feel so proud and amazed to see them do the things they can do.”