Mumbai Airport, along with Animal Angels Therapy Centre, Pune, has deployed a few dogs who act as a reassurance for children and adults who are afraid of flying
Flying isn’t everybody’s cup of tea. Some people actually dread it and start having anxiety attacks a couple of hours before the plane is about to take off. It is for this reason that the Mumbai Airport has teamed up with Pune’s Animal Angels Therapy Centre and deployed three Golden Retrievers who interact with flyers and calm their nerves.
Animal-assisted therapy
According to Aakash Lonkar, the Director of the Mumbai unit of Animal Angels Therapy Centre, the dogs are trained in animal-assisted socialising from an early age. “We usually put the dogs through various situations i.e. a place with strangers, a place where there is noise, etc., so that the dogs get used to such an environment while they deal with passengers on a daily basis,” he explains.
The three golden retrievers: Goldie, Pepe and Sunshi have been at the airport for the past five months, operating every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. “Two dogs operate at a time, so that each animal gets adequate rest. Our team that comprises Gayatri Ayyer, Harshada Gokhale, Akansha Kotibhaskar and Jai Bapat ensure that everything goes smoothly. We are also in talks with the airport authorities to have more dogs within the premises so that they can interact with passengers for all seven days,” adds Lonkar.
Born therapists
Minal Kavishwar, the founder and director of Animal Angels Foundation, says that golden retrievers aren’t the only dog breeds used for therapy. “Certain dogs are born therapists, so we have to just observe the temperament of the animal. Breeds such as Beagles, Labradors and Cocker Spaniels are also used as therapy dogs,” she explains.
Several international airports have introduced schemes such as yoga rooms, gyms and de-stressing centres for flyers so that the passengers can beat the stress of having to spend several hours in the sky.
Despite several efforts and emails, MIAL remained unavailable for comment, but past reports have cited them expressing satisfaction over the programme’s success.
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 "Beat the flying blues by hugging a golden retriever!")
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