The concept of airport therapy dogs in 2017 experienced a significant surge in popularity! We’d bet it’s because of their pawsitive influence on travelers. After all, who can resist an adorable dog? They’re there to help you feel relaxed, stress-free and happy at the airport. And we think they’re doing an excellent job!
Studies show that dog therapy is an efficient way to reduce stress. For example, anxious passengers can be stressed when dealing with delays, missed flights, and gate changes. However, we saw that their stress completely melted away when they had the chance to interact with airport therapy dogs in 2017.
The question remains—how many airport therapy dog programs are there in the United States? (Furthermore, how many are there around the entire world? We’ll get to the bottom of the latter soon enough, but for now, we’re focusing on the U.S.)
This year, we read a variety of articles that mentioned varying numbers of US airport therapy dogs in 2017. Strangely enough, the numbers ranged from 27 airport therapy dog programs to over 50! Furthermore, another suggested just 30. So, we wondered how many are there?
As the year comes to an end, we wanted to see how many active airport therapy dogs in 2017 there were.
We launched designated Airport Therapy Dog pages on social media to figure it out. Through posting on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, we were able to get a good insight into how many airport therapy dogs in 2017 there were. Also, our close relationships with airports helped us narrow it down!
Some new programs that launched in 2017 are at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Asheville Regional Airport, Punta Gorda Airport, Rochester International Airport, Bradley International Airport, and Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport—to name of few.
As over-stressed Americans are getting ready for holiday travel, we are excited to share where you can help ease your ruff layover! Check out our infographic below to see where you can find airport therapy dogs across the U.S.
However, keep in mind that these are airports with permanent therapy dog programs. At the time of writing this, we found 48 programs. Other airports have temporary programs that they’re trying out, too!
