The “Wag Brigade” arrives at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) next month. Starting in December, SFO will welcome trained therapy dogs to help ease the stress of holiday travel. The initiative is run in partnership with the San Francisco chapter of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SF/SPCA).
Across the program, nine certified dogs from the MSPCA’s Animal Assisted Therapy program will make scheduled visits around the terminals. Each dog will wear a vest that invites travelers to “Pet Me!” and displays the animal’s breed and role. Volunteers and handlers will be on hand to guide interactions, ensuring a calm, safe experience for both passengers and animals.
The therapy dogs are intended to provide brief moments of comfort for travelers who may be anxious, tired, or overwhelmed during busy travel periods. Encounters with the animals typically last only a few minutes, offering a quick emotional boost for people of all ages. The program also aims to support airport employees by providing a friendly break from the daily stresses of working in a busy transportation hub.
SFO has organized these visits to be accessible throughout the terminal areas, with handlers coordinating routes and times so the dogs can reach a variety of gates and passenger flows. Travelers can look for posted schedules or ask airport staff where the Wag Brigade teams will be during their time at the airport.
Similar programs at other airports and public venues have shown positive effects on mood and stress levels, and the SFO initiative follows that approach by focusing on short, supervised visits. All participating animals are trained and certified for public therapy work, and safety protocols are in place to protect both the dogs and the people they visit.
The Wag Brigade offers a low-cost, high-impact way to improve the passenger experience during peak travel seasons. By incorporating animal-assisted therapy into the airport environment, SFO hopes to make holiday travel a little more relaxed and pleasant for everyone passing through the terminals.
You may also like:
San Francisco: Golden Opportunities
San Francisco: California Boomtown