The Airport

The F.E.T.C.H. Airport Teams

We went to the airport several times a month. You wouldn’t think of that as a typical place for Therapy Dogs but I realized quickly there is a big need. Some are afraid to fly. I have had lots of people spot us and run over and say “Oh I so need a therapy dog. I am terrified of flying” but we helped more than people afraid to fly and it has been so rewarding.

During the bad weather at the holidays this year, there were lots of people stranded in Eugene. We decided to go New Year’s Day and see if we could help. The airport was packed. We spent about an hour there and Emmi was wiped out so we started to go towards the elevator. In front of us was a young girl being carried by her Dad just sobbing and screaming. Emmi immediately pulled to get to them. I wasn’t sure if we should intrude. In between her crying, the girl spotted Emmi and said “dog” before she started crying again. Her Dad turned around, Emmi went to him and I asked if his daughter would like to pet Emmi. He said yes, and let set his daughter down by Emmi. He looked so relieved when the crying and screaming immediately stopped. She started petting Emmi. Emmi licked her and the girl giggled. Her Dad told me they had been trying to get home for 3 days and she had been crying most of that time and it had been really hard on her. He said this was the first time in those 3 days she had not been crying. He thanked us and picked her up. She was no longer crying and smiled at Emmi as they walked away.

Often, it was all Emmi doing the work. Some people feel much more comfortable talking to a dog. One of the experiences we had which really affected me was when we had a young woman come up to Emmi. She didn’t even look at me. She just got down on the carpet and pet Emmi. She was crying. Emmi moved closer to her and put her chin on her shoulder and leaned into her. She put her arms around Emmi (many dogs don’t like to be hugged but Emmi did) and cried, her tears falling on Emmi. They just stayed like that for at least 5 minutes. She then stood up and ran off towards the gates. Emmi seemed to take people’s pain in and I hadn’t personally experienced it until this woman. When we got out to the car, I was exhausted. I was surprised but I realized I was feeling all the pain that woman had been feeling. It helped me see how it affected Emmi.

Emmi amazed me with her ability to do exactly what people needed. A woman was sitting on the floor against the wall. She had her legs straight out in front of her. Emmi kept trying to go to her but we had several people waiting to see her. As soon as we were free, Emmi went straight to her. The woman said she had a service dog who was unable to go on this trip and she so needed Emmi. The next thing I knew, Emmi was on top of her legs. I was mortified and started to call her to move off but the woman stopped me. She said she had a circulation issue and this was one of the things her service dog did to help her. After a few minutes, she asked if she could lean on Emmi to get up and if Emmi could help her to the gate. You would have thought Emmi was her service dog. She had never assisted anyone with mobility but helped her to the gate like she had been doing it forever. She was incredible.

Some people actually tell Emmi their troubles. Emmi pulled me towards a man waiting for a plane in the lower level. We made eye contact so I went over and explained she was a therapy dog and would he like to pet her. He said he had experienced a horrible week and no, thank you. I said I was sorry to hear that and hoped things improved and turned to walk away. Emmi continued towards him and wouldn't leave. I started to pull her but stopped when he started petting her. She leaned into him and he continued to pet her and then he told her about his mother-in-law dying suddenly and unexpectedly the week before and several days later his sister-in-law was diagnosed with cancer. Then to top it off, his own father who had been in good health, had an aneurysm and was on life support. He was flying to say goodbye and take him off life support. After he told Emmi all this, he thanked her and said “I guess I needed a therapy dog”. He never said a word to me and that was OK. Emmi walked away and "shook it off". She would shake like she had been in water after a really emotional interaction.