Traveling can be stressful. The Jackson Hole Airport is trying to make the experience more pleasant by greeting passengers with emotional support dogs. The airport recently announced an alliance with Teton Pet Partners who will welcome visitors with therapy dogs when they arrive at the terminal.

"This program is an excellent addition to the customer service experience," Jackson Hole Airport Board President Rick Braun told Buckrail. "We have already witnessed the positive impacts the dogs and their handlers have had on the traveling public.”

Jackson Hole joins over a dozen airports around the country who have enlisted therapy animals to comfort customers who are afraid of flying or experiencing travel-related anxiety. At the Denver International Airport, their Canine Airport Therapy Squad, or CATS, has over 100 dogs and one cat who are escorted through the terminals meeting passengers.

In August, the United States Department of Transportation clarified their rules for airline passengers traveling with emotional support animals after a union representing flight attendants pushed for stricter regulations of dogs on commercial flights. Several airlines have adopted additional restrictions requiring passengers to document their medical need for an emotional support animal. While therapy dogs in the terminals aren't subject to federal regulations, they are each locally certified and have experience working with the public.

 

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