If you have the good fortune to be flying in or out of North Carolina’s Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT), you might have the even better fortune of meeting one of the “CLTCanineCrew.”
When one of National Purebred Dog Day’s readers traveling through that airport saw the image below on an airport monitor, she snapped a picture and sent to us. Unless one is a fancier or knows the owner of a Clumber Spaniel, it’s not every day one sees the breed outside a dog show, let alone acting as an ambassador at a major airport. We were intrigued.
After doing a little homework, we learned that back in 2015, the airport offered a new passenger amenity in the form of the “CLT Canine Crew,” a team of eight dogs wearing an inviting blue and yellow “Pet Me” vests. The dogs, who work on a rotating basis two to three times a month, and for an hour or two during each visit, are experienced certified therapy dogs (but no barkers!) tasked with calming down or cheering up weary travelers. Their human counterparts are able to provide practical information to passengers.
We’re tickled at how many purebred dogs are part of the program. “Annie,” is a Great Pyrenees, while the Clumber Spaniel in the photo above is “Clarence.” “Ru” is a Golden Retriever, “Lucy,” is a West Highland White Terrier, and representing American Foxhounds is “Rosco.” Last but not least are, “Winston Churchill,” a Yorkshire Terrier, and “Lil Rocky Balboa,” a Brussels Griffon. “These dogs are rock stars,” said interim Aviation Director Brent Cagle during an interview at the program’s inception. “Their basic job is to welcome customers.”
What a great way to introduce dog breeds to the public.
As of 2016, thirty airports in the United States offered stress-relief programs with certified therapy dogs to travelers, including Minneapolis St. Paul, Hancock Airport in Syracuse, the “Wag Brigade” at San Francisco International Airport, and at Los Angeles’ LAX where it’s called the PUP Program (short for Pets Unstressing Passengers). Check out the “tall” dog in the video below:
Have you encountered any of these canine ambassadors in your travels?