Mumbai: 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.
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.
26/02/16 Daily News & Analysis
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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.
26/02/16 Daily News & Analysis
