LAX Pups

By Sarah Storkin, Observer Staff Writer

Therapy dogs dressed in Christmas outfits helped 200,000 passengers a day pass through Los Angeles International Airport during the holiday period, reports the @LAXPups project.

"Happy "Howl"idays from our @LAXPUPS," says a tweet from the dogs. Or someone with fingers associated with them. The dogs are named "Serjio, Mia, Mason and Ellie. If you are flying this holiday season, look out for them greeting guests in the terminals. #LAX #LAXPups.

LAX airport has undergone massive construction in recent months, as a train or "people mover" is under construction to link eight passenger terminals.

There have been recent incidents at LAX where passengers thought they heard gunfire, or other rumors circulated and caused passengers to rush out of terminals. But in general the airport has operated smoothly, which hundreds of thousands of passengers moving through security as they mask up. Masks are required in all terminals.

A therapy dog, says Wikipedia, is a dog that is trained to provide affection, comfort and support to people, often in settings such as hospitals, retirement homes, nursing homes, schools, libraries, hospices, or disaster areas. In contrast to assistance dogs, which are trained to assist specific patients with their day-to-day physical needs, therapy dogs are trained to interact with all kinds of people, not just their handlers.