Philadelphia Airport honors its brigade of stress-relieving therapy dogs

PHILADELPHIA– A pack of four-legged therapists also got a break Monday when they were honored at the airport where they dutifully work to relieve stress and calm travelers.

The event at Philadelphia International Airport marked the fifth anniversary since the 23 members of the Wagging Tails Brigade began greeting people and serving as therapy dogs.

Several of them were presented with birthday gifts and a personalized cake, while passersby were invited to eat cupcakes and sign an oversized birthday card.

The brigade members and their volunteer human handlers are at the airport for at least two hours a week to impress people with their tricks and lift the spirits of travel-weary passengers. Dogs wear vests and ask people to “pet” them.

Alan Gurvitz, a volunteer with Hope, a Labrador retriever, said their goal is to make traveling a little more enjoyable.

“I like to call the airport a land of cancellations and delays. That’s why people here are often very stressed,” said Gurvitz.

Jamie and Victoria Hill were on their way to their honeymoon in the Dominican Republic and tried to stay positive by cuddling Bella after their flight was delayed.

“It reminded us of our dog at home,” said Jamie Hill. “We miss him.”

In June, Nancy Mittleman recalls being at the airport with her German Shepherd, Tarik, when bad weather grounded flights. The two spent several hours entertaining stranded children and their parents.

“Soon there was a whole crowd around me,” Mittleman said. “There were probably ten kids sitting around him, talking to each other. And the nice thing about it was that there were a lot of stressed parents and a lot of unhappy kids in front of him.”

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

___

This story has been updated to correct the spelling of a volunteer’s first name to Alan Gurvitz, not Allan.