Four-legged volunteers help calm anxious passengers at Calgary International Airport

A moment of 'paws' for stressed travellers Travelling over the holidays can be stressful, but a program at YYC aims to alleviate that with a moment of 'paws.'

Calgary International Airport has a special crew to alleviate travellers' stress by offering a moment of pause (and paws).

Pre-board Pals, a partnership between Calgary Airport Authority and Calgary's Pet Access League Society (PALS), places friendly pets in the terminal to greet passengers.

"Having a pet to pet in the airport is really awesome because I miss my babies (dogs) at home, so it's really great to have somebody here to remind you and snuggle with for a minute," said Rachel Lemieux, who met the Pre-board PALS at YYC before her flight home to Texas.

"You just calm down and it makes you happy."

Each animal is evaluated by PALS to determine if they have what it takes to become an official therapy pet.

"He's very special because he's chill and he loves people. He loves to hang out and give some stress relief," said Phoebe Fung about her 14-year-old Pomeranian Dom, who has been volunteering with PALS for six years.

The red vests on the animals say "pet me" and people at the airport are invited to do that.

"He loves to be petted and he is always a happy boy," said Darcy Saworski of her pug Kohl.

"He just makes people feel good because how could you not feel good when you hear a 'kha kha kahfff' coming at you," she laughed, imitating her pup's snarfle.

YYC currently has a team of two cats and more than 35 dogs that visit Calgary's terminal at peak times to help put people at ease.

"Cats are special, There are only seven in the world that come to airports and Calgary has two of them and Enzo happens to be one," said Victoria Winslow about her eight-year-old tabby.

The two-legged volunteers say their pets can often sense who needs a little extra care.

"A lot of times (people) say, 'Oh I'm so stressed, I'm glad the dog is here or the cat is here.' Then they start petting them and you can see the stress reducing in their face," said Winslow.

"He feels like a hamster. I like it."

For most of the year, if you're traveling Wednesday to Sunday you might have a chance to see YYC's pre-board PALS but, during the winter holiday season, they visit the terminal seven days a week.

The program started in 2016, but many of the animals also provide pet therapy at other facilities including Alberta Children's Hospital and the Emergency Women's Shelter.

The non-profit PALS helps to improve the mental, physical, social and emotional health of tens of thousands of Calgarians each year.