A few months ago I took A.J. to the airport with me to pick up Greg after a business trip. A.J. was the star of the airport. Shortly after that trip I read an article about programs at airports around the country where they bring in therapy dogs to calm and cheer up passengers. For various reasons, I recently failed to renew A.J.’s therapy dog certification, but if our airport had this program I would have renewed it; the airport is definitely the place for him. We got to experience that again yesterday.

This time it was my turn for a business trip. We didn’t take A.J. to the airport when I left because we were afraid he’d start crying while I walked through security. But he got to come with Greg to greet me when I came home.

They arrived at the airport a little bit early and were there when a plane came in just before mine. People walked past, smiling at A.J. as he calmly waited near the bottom of the escalators. A group of three women came by and stopped to make a very big fuss over A.J. (I’m not sure they even noticed that Greg was at the other end of the leash.) A.J. ate up the attention and put on a bit of a show, acting as adorable as he could (which, if I do say so myself, is very adorable).

Shortly after the women left, I arrived. When A.J. spotted me he tried very hard to contain himself, trying to sit and wiggle all over at the same time. When I got to him I reached down and petted him while he buried his head between my knees. When I stopped petting him he jumped up on me. I normally don’t let him do this unless I invite him up, but he was so adorable I didn’t stop him. He just stared up at me and gave me a big hug while I continued to pet him. Another passenger, observing this scene, walked by and said “Mommy’s home!”