Worried about flying? How a therapy dog on Instagram helps at the Myrtle Beach airport
One interaction with a traveler stuck out in particular to Monica Callahan.
Callahan and her six-year-old dalmatian Orio were walking around the Myrtle Beach International Airport one day when a woman crying in the airport approached Callahan.
She asked if she could pet Orio, and Callahan said yes. The woman kept crying while petting Orio before eventually getting up and thanking her.
“Later on, she actually (direct messaged) us on Instagram and said that she had just left her dad, probably for the last time, because he was not doing too well, and that she would always remember Orio,” Callahan added. “I was really touched by that.”
Callahan and Orio are part of the airport’s therapy dog program to help make flying easier for people.
Orio serves as one of 15 therapy dogs at the airport that help relieve people’s distress while traveling. Callahan and Orio walk around the airport, and travelers stop to pet the dog. Callahan and Orio visit the airport to comfort travelers once a week for one to two hours.
Callahan and Orio were the first to join the Myrtle Beach area’s program, one of at least 76 therapy dog groups at U.S. airports, according to the Asheville Regional Airport. Callahan also has two windsprites named Hip Hop and Disco that participate in the program, although Disco had to step back from the program after recently giving birth to a litter of puppies.
Orio is well-known to airport personnel and social media users alike.
Callahan runs an Instagram account, The Hero Dogs, with thousands of followers dedicated to therapy dogs and first responder content. Whether it’s wearing Beetlejuice-inspired attire for Halloween or red doggy Crocs, Orio is one of the main characters in the Instagram posts.
She’s a central figure at the airport, too. Dogs and their handlers, like Orio and Callahan, will visit at different times each week during business hours and spread out across the airport to maximize coverage.
“We just wanted to make sure that travelers had the most utility visiting the dogs,” Air Service and Business Analyst Lauren Wehrung said.
According to the American Kennel Club, therapy dogs seek to improve the lives of people they interact with. The AKC added that therapy dogs are not the same as service dogs, as trained service dogs have duties that assist their owners.
“She pretty much gets to say hi to people, and she’s here to make other people feel good,” Callahan said. “But we have to be invited in.”
Airport travel can cause significant stress and duress even before arriving. Wehrung said triggers for stress at the airport include packed crowds, TSA security and people traveling alone for the first time. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, dogs help reduce stress.
In that job, Orio excelled. Several flyers and airport staff stopped to dote on her as she walked around the terminal Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2024. Members of the Coastal Carolina University women’s soccer team traveling for an away game surrounded Orio, and they took turns petting her. The dog was more than happy to bask in the attention.
However, one thing did distract the dalmatian from her duties. As Orio walked between the A and B terminals at Myrtle Beach International Airport, the dog got excited.
The familiar sights and smells of the airport’s Subway drew the spotted dog’s interest. The restaurant used to give Orio bacon, and the dalmatian still remembered the treats she once enjoyed. Orio’s handler and owner, Monica Callahan, guided her past the treats, and the dog returned to her responsibilities.
Callahan deployed several techniques to navigate Orio around the airport, including placing her palm in front of the dog’s nose. The hand motion guides Orio to go in a specific direction. Callahan can also direct the Dalmatian to place her snout in Callahan’s hand so people can pet her.
Callahan said that while therapy dogs don’t need to be specific breeds, they do need certain temperaments. Therapy dogs at the airport must undergo training for three visits, with two being at a medical facility, before being certified for work, she said.
“You kind of just look for a dog that’s okay with a higher-stress environment and that really enjoys visiting with people,” Callahan said. “Sometimes the people want to do it, and the dogs are like, I don’t know if it’s for me.”
While airports might be high-stress environments for the dogs, they create the opposite for those working and traveling there.
“The dogs have been a great addition to kind of help distract people from those typical stressors that people would experience in airports,” Wehrung said.
