According to AAA, this holiday weekend is set to have the highest rate of travel since 2010. But travelers passing through San Francisco International Airport might have a little less stress than folks elsewhere, as a special team of therapy dogs is being deployed to help everyone keep from spazzing out.
And spazzing out is definitely possible this weekend, with projections of an 1.8% increase in air travel over 2014's busy July 4th weekend. As if packed cabins weren't stressful enough, fliers can also expect to pay 6% more than they did last year, AAA says.
But as you make your way through the crammed and now-poorer masses at SFO this weekend, there'll be some four-legged friends eager to help you feel better. According to Bay City News, this weekend the Burlingame-based Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA will send handlers and certified therapy dogs to SFO to "interact with airport passengers to create a more calming environment."
The national program, which is hash tagged #UnitedPaws, "aims to show the public the unique value of interacting with dogs in stressful environments and realize the soothing benefit of canine companionship, even if it’s just 15 or 20 minutes before a flight," PHS says.
This isn't the first time destressing dogs have roamed SFO's halls: Back in December 2013, the SF SPCA had a similar SFO program called the "Wag Brigade," in which canine graduates of the SF SPCA’s Animal Assisted Therapy training program offered themselves up for the petting.
This time around, the pups will be at the airport from Friday through Sunday. If you see one, give him or her a chin scratch from us!
Celebrating Independence Day traveling through @flySFO on @United? Stop and see our four-legged friends! #UnitedPaws
— PHS/SPCA (@PeninsulaHumane) July 2, 2015