SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. — The Boarding Area Relaxation Corps (BARC) is a group of certified therapy dogs and their owners who come to the Sacramento International Airport to help ease people who are anxious about flying.
This program has been around at the Sacramento airport since 2017 in both terminals. They visit terminal B on Wednesday from 10 a.m. until noon, and Terminal A on Sunday from 10 a.m. to noon.
Sheila Bose and her dog, Nanami, have been involved with this group for a few years.
"I raise puppies for the guide dogs for the blind and she came back to me because she wasn't going to work out for that program. So, we enrolled her in this one five years ago and now she's five years into it," said Bose.
Bose said a story, in particular, sticks out. One woman was petting the dogs while tearing up and said she was on her way to her dad's funeral.
"She just came over and said ‘I just really need this. She hugged the dogs so hard. But they loved it too. They gave her every bit of love back," said Bose.
Scott Johnston, the spokesperson for SMF, says they provide a lot of comfort when people are stressed about flying or life in general.
"Kids love petting them, a lot of people will come up and say this is their first time flying and they’re nervous, as can be expected. The dogs come out, they’re super friendly, and they're specially trained for this. They have a certain certification that they get initially and they need another one to come work at the airport," said Johnston.
A few other airports around the nation have similar programs and SMF was one of the first.
Eleyna Guerrero was traveling back to school and stopped to pet the dogs.
"They’re so cute and fluffy and it’s just nice to pet them and get a little bit of stress relief before you get on a flight for a few hours," said Guerrero.
Bose adds that not only do people love the dogs, but the dogs love their jobs.
"They look forward to coming here, they look forward to being here, and when they get to leave here at the end of their shift, they get treats on the train on the way back so they look forward to leaving as well," said Bose.
The Lend a Heart animal-assisted therapy program that the dogs are a part of makes them able to help people not only at the airport but also go to schools and other places where their love is needed.
Watch more on ABC10
