- We are at Denver International Airport,
one of the busiest airports in the world,
and today we're gonna go behind the wings of CATS,
the Canine Airport Therapy Squad.
It's mostly about dogs.
You'll see what I mean.
The CATS, or Canine Airport Therapy Squad,
represents more than 40 breeds.
We're gonna meet their pet parents
and the stars of the show themselves
to see how these animals
help travelers navigate the stress of flying.
(upbeat music) This one's gonna be cute.
I mean cool. All right. Never mind. Come on.
Denver is one of the busiest airports in the country.
How would you kind of describe Denver International Airport?
- Yeah, so you're absolutely right.
We are one of the busiest airports in the country
and one of the top 10 busiest airports in the world.
So as you can imagine there's just so much going on
and especially with construction
and all our projects that we're doing.
So yes, it's very busy.
- Only 6.5% of the population has aviophobia
or the fear of flying
but according to some studies
up to a quarter of all passengers
have some anxiety when it comes to flying.
But like most phobias, the actual fear outweighs the risk.
So to learn more about the risks of flying
we talked with Wings over the Rockies curator, Chuck Stout.
It's much more dangerous getting in your car,
getting killed by a ladder, getting food poisoning,
or even drowning in your own bathtub.
So Chuck, help us understand how dangerous is it
flying in a commercial airplane?
- Commercial airline flying in the United States
is incredibly safe.
The scheduled airlines in the United States
can go entire years without a single fatal accident.
- Aviation is one of the most scrutinized industries
when it comes to safety.
How does that work?
- All of aviation in the United States
is very carefully regulated by the FAA
and that means that all airplanes
that are registered in the United States
are thoroughly inspected frequently
and they maintain strict standards of maintenance.
Likewise, all pilots are thoroughly trained
and their knowledge and skills
are periodically rechecked and refreshed
to keep them up to date.
- Plane safety has been improving for decades.
Where is this going?
- Flying today is safer than it's ever been
at any time in history and it continues to get safer.
- [Cray] For many, the statistics aren't enough
to get rid of the anxiety.
To help ease the stress, this is where the CATS come in.
Right here at Denver International Airport
is the biggest animal therapy program in the country.
Why is travel stressful?
- We never know the reason someone is traveling, right?
They could be traveling for fun.
They could be traveling for business
or they could be traveling for something tragic.
That's kind of one of the biggest reasons
we started the program
and we just wanted to provide some sort of, you know,
ease and little moment of, you know,
peace and comfort while people are traveling.
It's almost just like that,
all the worry that they had just like flows out of them
and they're like, "Oh my gosh!"
and they kind of just like collapse and hug this animal
that's just there for that reason.
So it's really heartwarming to see.
It really varies, you know,
from kids to adults to people with disabilities,
everyone can be, you know, affected in a positive way.
- In some ways it's just as simple as like
you see a tail wagging and it makes you happy.
I mean, how do you feel when you see these therapy animals?
- I feel so happy. It's just incredible.
Also the fact that they're here as volunteers, you know,
they don't get paid to come out here.
It means that they're really here
from the goodness of their heart
and because they want to be here
and they want to help passengers ease their stress
while traveling.
- About one in four of these people are stressed.
Imagine that. That's a lot of stress.
Good thing the dogs are here to chill them out.
You're doing such a good job.
Oh.
Billie, you're one of the volunteers with CATS
and this is Fender.
I'm wondering, could you tell me a bit
about your role with the CATS program?
- Billie Smith, and I am a volunteer here at the airport.
Therapy dogs are everywhere now,
but I sure never thought that they'd ever be in an airport.
Their job in coming out here is to do stress relief.
- [Dog Handler] This is Merrick. He's here for petting.
- We usually do a two hour shift.
They really do a great job for stress relief
because they detract from all of the anxiety
that's going on, you know, in that person's mind
about having to get on the airplane.
I have had several people that have come over and said,
"Oh, just let me pet your dog for a little while"
"because I have to go on the plane pretty soon", you know.
It's amazing to see the smiles
even on the people's faces who aren't petting the dogs.
Not that we can see them right now with the masks. (laughs)
- We're making our way through the airport.
These dogs are really the star of the show.
We're getting stopped like every 10 feet.
Each one is cuter than the last.
No wonder these animals can make such a big difference
for travelers that are stressed out.
- When we heard about the opportunity to do therapy here
we were really excited.
Airports can be stressful, we know.
Flying can be stressful
and I've had some amazing experiences here with Sampson.
Just very recently we met a new mother.
She had her brand new little baby
and it was the first time she was flying
and she was alone
and she just broke down when she saw Sampson, just tears,
and it was just so comforted by seeing Sampson.
She's like, "Oh this is just warming my heart"
"you know, I'm nervous, I'm scared",
but it helped her.
So things like that.
Research shows that it does lower blood pressure.
It boosts the immune system
to have an animal or to pet an animal, to pet a dog.
- Hello you handsome boy.
- And he's just gonna attach himself to you.
(Cray laughs)
- What do you love about it that keeps you coming back?
- The world is hard. (laughs) It's a hard place, right?
So being able to bring just little lights
into people's lives.
- I'm not even flying and even walking in
I was like, - Right!
- stressed out. - You were like, anxiety!
Oh my God. Yeah. Totally. (laughing)
- Well, Lisa, thank you for sharing.
- Of course.
And thank you for letting me - Of course.
- pet him.
- Yeah. You bet.
- So we left the concourse and headed underground
where tunnels connect to the terminals.
This is where I had to ask the big questions.
So are there aliens down here?
- Ummm.
I cannot speak on that.
I plead the fifth (laughs)
- Maybe there are aliens, but this video isn't about that
so we sat down with volunteer program manager, Karla Grahn,
to learn more about how the CATS program started
and the impact it's having today.
Therapy animals have been around for a long time
but how did they really get started in airports
and even right here at DEN?
- So CATS started in 2015 after the airport in LAX.
So in LA launched their program
and we saw the success of that
and we wanted to jump on that success but make it better.
So we started in 2015 with 23 therapy dogs
and we grew to over 120 pre pandemic.
So we were the largest program in the nation
before COVID-19 hit.
- Some people have a real fear of flying.
For others it makes them anxious.
What makes people anxious to fly?
- It could be kids in tow,
a mom who's traveling with two younger children
all by herself
and having a therapy animal there
to help escort them to the gate,
keep them focused on their mission to make it to the gate.
- Hello. Hello.
- All of the emotions that they're feeling
while at the airport, an animal just takes that moment away,
gives you a break from what you're experiencing
and that emotion and just enjoy it.
- So we're not using Prozac or some other medication.
In this case, it's actually animals,
mostly dogs, that are improving people's flying experience
and helping them work through their anxiety.
How does that work?
- There are substantial studies that have been done
on the interactions of therapy animals,
or just pets in general with people.
Release of serotonin, right?
Your happy hormones, those get released.
Just the art of petting
is been shown to relieve your stress.
- So we've seen an increase of animal therapy programs
in airports around the US and even the world.
Where do you see this going?
- I think it's just growing into more.
It's how do we make bigger programs?
How do we do it at all types of airports
whether we are in an international airport
or a smaller domestic airport?
If we make one person's day better
by interacting with a therapy animal
then we've reached our goal.
In one wag at a time. (laughs)
- Whether people have a serious fear of flying
or just some anxiety about getting on a plane,
they're on their way to the gate
but they take a minute to pause,
pet the dog, get a wag of the tail,
if you're lucky, a lick on the face.
Next time I'm at the airport,
I'm looking for one of these dogs.
That was so cool meeting all the dogs and one cat
at Denver International Airport.
You've made it to the end of the video.
So if you subscribe, thank you so much.
And if you don't subscribe, just subscribe already.
All right, I've gotta get outta here.
I've got some more dogs to pet.
I'll see you later.