The ‘Miami Hound Machine’ – a team of therapy dogs – is coming to Miami International Airport.
Miami International Airport’s new therapy dog program, charmingly called the Miami Hound Machine, is making its debut today.
The team’s five volunteer K-9 Ambassadors – Abbey, Belle, Dash, Donovan and Pico – and their owners will be on site today with airport officials for a press conference. The pups will then go to work inside Concourse D, visting with passengers and being cute.
Members of the Miami Hound Machine are all certified therapy dogs from the Alliance of Therapy Dogs and will be on duty in the MIA terminals during peak travel periods.
Therapy dogs at airports are a growing trend. So are the types of animals on the therapy dog teams – San Francisco International Airport’s Wag Brigade has a pig (Lulu); Denver International Airport’s CATS program (Canine Airport Therapy Sqaud) has a cat named Xeli, and Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) often has a small herd of miniature horses stop by.
Have you encountered a member of an animal therapy team at an airport? Thumbs up or down?
2 Responses
Loved this story on MIA’s Hound Machine! Surprised it did not mention the first MIA therapy
dog Team: Liz and Casey. I spoke with her back in 2014. I over see the therapy dogs at
Reno-Tahoe (now 30 teams strong) and liz had some great “tips” for our Paws 4 Passengers
teams back then. Please keep covering the new airports who offer this unique Customer
Service! Florida is making it a tight race for the state with the most airports who have airport
therapy dogs,. Florida 6 and California 7 (these numbers are to the best of my knowledge).
debbie harvey
Paws 4 Passengers, volunteer
Reno-Tahoe Intl. Airport
Good point about the early team members. They were trailblazers!