A couple of weekends back the Michael W Travels family visited Buffalo, NY.

On the way home Kim noticed a cute friendly dog playing with another family. Lucas really loves dogs so Kim suggested that he go over and ask to pet the dog.

This turned out to be a simple request considering the dog was walking around the airport with its owner as part of the Paws for Love program!

After Lucas was finished petting the dog, an English Springer Terrier named Adeline, I briefly chatted with her owner.

The man was proud to mention that he’d already made over 55 visits to the airport. (I’m not sure how long it took for him to do this many visits.) He stops by Buffalo Niagara International Airport on Sundays.

I was curious whether or not Adeline was his dog or one that is owned by the Paws For Love program. It turned out that Adeline was his dog.

I then asked if it was hard to get security clearance to come into the airport with the dog even though he wasn’t flying.

The man made a face and said something like “Oh Yeah”. He then mentioned how his security clearance took over a year to get and his wife still doesn’t have it!

Before moving on to let other travelers have some time to interact with the therapy dog Adeline, Lucas was given a little card which he was happy to receive. The card includes the dog’s name, breed and the program: Paws For Love/ Therapy Dog.

I was told that Adeline got her start training with people with dementia. The man mentioned how the dog had a positive affect on them. Adeline also loves interacting with people at the airport to calm them down or even just have some four-legged company.

Have you ever interacted with an airport therapy dog? If so, was it a positive experience?