The sight of dogs at the airport is one that can send shivers even to the most experienced travellers. However, that is not the case at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in India, where three Labradors are helping define a new role that man’s best friend can play.
Trained to be stress busters the dogs are taking the experience of travelling to another level through helping stressed international fliers feel much better.
Dogs have for years been used to comfort special children and traumatised adults, a role that the Labradors are playing to perfection all in the effort of alleviating flight anxiety and fear. Trained by the Angels Therapy Center in Pune the three retrievers can sense a person’s mood by sniffing and providing a helping hand of comfort whenever needed.
Anxious travellers at the airport are allowed to pet the dogs for minutes to keep their minds busy and away from the stress that comes with travelling. Cuddles with the dogs come in plenty, and the handlers say they dogs have been found to trigger a hormone called Oxytocin that most of the time results in a soothing effect.
Animal trainers have already attributed a reduction in heart rate and blood pressure among travellers on therapy dogs. The finding has all but helped bring to light the role that dogs can play in alleviating anxiety and stress while travelling. Unlike other pets, dogs have the potential to take even the most stressed people from their heads and into a new reality of comfort and optimism.
A German traveller can testify to the kind of comfort one of the golden retrievers accorded him while hit with a 15-hour delay at the airport. A comforting hug followed by a frank conversation for an hour was the last thing the traveller expected while feeling stressed miles away from home.
It is virtually impossible to stay in a bad mood when in the company of an innocent and a loving dog craving for attention. Given the positive reception to the pilot program, there are plans to increase the number of therapy dogs at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport.
