Dogs get airport training, and treats

It’s not every day that the passage through airport security is rewarded with a “good boy.”

But the 13 Labrador retrievers that toured John Wayne Airport on Saturday weren’t your typical travelers. The dogs, most around the age of 14 and 15 months, are being raised to serve as companions to children and adults with disabilities. Saturday’s training was meant to acclimate the canines to one of life’s more aggravating activities — air travel.

Trainers in tow, the pack first heeded nature’s call on the artificial turf at the “animal relief area” outside Terminal A. They rode an elevator up to security screening. Then, tails wagging, they ended the hourlong tour by posing for a photo in front of the bronze statue of John Wayne.

“This is to get them desensitized to the sights, sounds, smells they’ll encounter,” said Angela Jackson-Brunning, a Costa Mesa resident who was there with 15-month-old Lariat, a golden Lab. “Everything you do involves them, whether it’s going to a doctor’s appointment or running to the grocery store.”

Jackson-Brunning is a volunteer with the nonprofit Canine Companions for Independence, which was founded in Santa Rosa in 1975 and provides assistance dogs to individuals with disabilities at no cost. Jackson-Brunning said she got Lariat at 8 weeks old. While Lariat is with her, Jackson-Brunning pays for food and veterinary care. At about 18 months, Lariat will go on to advanced training and eventually be placed with a “forever owner.”

James Laux, the transportation security manager, said the airport organizes tours like the one Saturday for service animal training and for families with autistic children who might find the airport overwhelming.

Lariat, like all the dogs, took in the constant beeps, buzzes and overhead announcements at the bustling airport without misbehaving. But she grew antsy when Jackson-Brunning passed through the security scanner without her.

Jackson-Brunning said assistance dogs are typically Labrador and golden retrievers because the breeds possess the necessary stamina, smarts, and eagerness to please. She and Lariat go to weekly training classes provided by Canine Companions for Independence.

Jackson-Brunning works in medical billing at the Newport Mesa Animal Hospital, so she can bring Lariat to work, she said. Some of the other volunteers said they have worked out “co-parenting” arrangements. Kathy Huben, an empty nester from Palos Verdes, said she shares responsibility for Belle, a black Lab, with a woman who lives nearby and works from home.

Belle is the third Labrador Huben has trained. She said her first, JoJo, lives with an Arizona girl who has cerebral palsy. The second, Breezy, lives with an occupational therapist who works with children. Huben exchanges Christmas cards with the new owners.

She said the dogs help the new owners in many ways, by performing physical tasks like picking up a dropped item, and by furnishing constant companionship.

Belle will leave Huben in August and Huben knows she’ll be sad. But she also knows that Belle, like JoJo and Breezy, will find a new home with someone who needs her.