The holidays are a stressful time, and traveling through crowded airports to spend hours on a cramped plane only makes things worse. United Airlines is offering a way to help curb some of that anxiety with its United Paws program. They’ll be sending over 200 specially trained comfort dogs to seven major airports.
The dogs will be led around terminals by handlers and be available to travelers who are feeling overwhelmed by the pressures of holiday travel. They’ll be able to pet and interact with the dogs, which has been proven to decrease stress and lower blood pressure.
United Airlines has offered this service at two airports in the past, but this year they are bringing the pups to airports in Cleveland, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark, and Washington. Los Angeles International Airport offers a similar program year round called Pets Unstressing Passengers or PUP.
This seems like a great way to reduce the amount of anxiety people feel around the holidays. I know I’d find the experience of being in an airport much less stressful if there was a dog around to pet and play with. What do you think? Would you like to see more comfort animals in airports? Let us know in the comments below.
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