Duke the Cat Gets a Fancy Gig at San Francisco Airport

Jun 14

Jun 14 Duke the Cat Gets a Fancy Gig at San Francisco Airport

The Wag Brigade, a team of therapy animals (mostly dogs) that comforts stressed out travelers at San Francisco International Airport, has just hired its first cat, one Duke Ellington Morris.

Duke “was discovered starving in a San Francisco feral cat colony,” according to the airport website. After a brief stay at San Francisco’s Animal Care and Control, the black-and-white cat was adopted and, due to his benign and friendly demeanor, became a certified animal therapist. Last month he joined the Wag Brigade, where he roams SFO terminals, offering weary passengers the warmth of furry contact.

The airport launched the Brigade in 2013 “to make passenger travel more enjoyable.” The city’s Animal Assisted Therapy Program, run by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, certifies these huggable animals, who eventually don inviting "Pet Me" vests – as well as costumes during holiday seasons. Duke was introduced wearing a jaunty, cat-sized pilot’s uniform.

Duke isn’t the only non-canine in the Brigade. The group also includes Alex, a Flemish giant rabbit and LiLou, a Juliana-breed mini pig.