According to Associated Press, several airports have come up with a novel way to help passengers. It involves a pilot program offering friendly dogs trained to snuggle and soothe people as the nervous humans wait for flights and try to endure other airport inconveniences that seem to get more stressful every day.

The service is called PUP: Pets Unstressing Passengers. On leashes held by trained volunteers, and wearing jackets identifying their tasks, the dogs wander through the passenger areas offering friendly paws, bellies and noses to pat.

The dogs are particularly popular with kids, who are often frightened, confused and impatient when being forced to wait for hours in busy, noisy airports. A friendly dog's gentle eyes, muzzle and wagging tail are perfect solutions to calming them down.

So far, PUP is available at airports in San Jose, Los Angeles and Miami, with more expected to offer the doggone good services soon. Considering the growing tensions in just about every airport from flight delays, security lines, ever increasing fare prices and other stresses, the friendly canines are welcome presences.  

Editorial opinion: We like dogs very much, but as cat lovers, we feel they are just as qualified to be airport therapists, and should also be enlisted to provide the same soothing services. We’d call them FRIENDS: Felines Really Into Easing Numbingly Disturbing Situations.