Furry therapists: Philadelphia airport honours therapy dogs who bring joy to stressed travelers

A pack of four-legged therapists got a break of their own on Monday when they were honored at the airport where they dutifully work to ease stress and calm travelers. The event at Philadelphia International Airport marked five years since the 23 members of the Wagging Tails Brigade began greeting people and serving as therapy dogs. Several of them were presented with birthday presents and a customized cake while passersby were invited to eat cupcakes and sign an oversized birthday card.

Members of the brigade and their volunteer human handlers are at the airport for at least two hours a week, impressing people with their tricks and doing what they can to raise the spirits of road-weary passengers. Dogs wear vests asking people to “pet me.” Alan Gurvitz, a volunteer with Hope, a Labrador retriever, said their goal is to make travel a bit more pleasant.

“I like to refer to the airport as the land of cancellations and delays. So people tend to be very stressed out here,” Gurvitz said. Jamie and Victoria Hill, on their way to their honeymoon in the Dominican Republic, turned to pet Bella while trying to stay positive after their flight was delayed. “It's reminded us of our dog back at home," Jamie Hill said. “We miss him.”

Back in June, Nancy Mittleman recalled, she was at the airport with her German shepherd Tarik while bad weather snarled air traffic. The two of them spent several hours entertaining stranded children and their parents. “Soon enough, I had an entire crowd around me," Mittleman said. "There must have been 10 kids sitting around him and they were talking to each other. And the beauty of it was before that, there were a lot of stressed out parents and a lot of unhappy children.”

Volunteers try to coordinate to have at least one brigade member at the airport to greet travelers, especially on days with significant delays or disruptions.