Your Dog 202003

62 Your Dog March 2020

A group of caring canines are soothing the

nerves of anxious passengers at a London

airport. Isabel George reports.

Members of the

AirPaws Crew. Left

to right: Shelley with

Ted, Tina with Oscar,

Cheryl with Rosie, and

Debbie with Ellie. 

THE LIMIT!

T he

s

ky

’

s

T

ravellers l ying out of London

Southend Airport can now enjoy

a special kind of canine therapy,

thanks to a new initiative to help nervous

passengers reduce their anxiety levels

ahead of departure.

Donut the Staf ordshire Bull Terrier, Ellie

the Labrador, Lola the French Bulldog,

Oscar the Spanish Water Dog, Rosie the

Retriever, and Ted the Lhasa Apso make up

the team of six therapy dogs, collectively

known as the AirPaws Crew. Trained by the

charity Canine Concern, the dogs, wearing

their distinctive blue coats and bandannas,

proved an immediate hit with airport visitors

and staf , when the initiative launched just

before Christmas last year.

“The idea of taking our charity’s therapy

dogs to comfort nervous l yers just came

to me one day,” said Tina Jullings, a Canine

Concern volunteer alongside her dog

Oscar. “I knew that it was something worth

exploring as so many people experience

some level of anxiety before l ying and, apart

from it possibly af ecting other passengers,

I imagined that it would be a real concern

for airport staf who want to make sure

everyone is happy before they travel.

Canine Concern

volunteer Debbie

Jeremiah and her

Yellow Lab, Ellie.