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Portland International Airport in Oregon knows that holiday travel is stressful. That's why this season some specialists were invited to help passengers control their cortisol levels. During three visits this month, Beni and Prince handed out their medication.
“You can hug them tight and their thick fibers are so soft,” says Lori Gregory said of their llamas. “Compared to most other therapy animals, they’re just very unique animals. They got the whole package.”
Airports around the world are using various methods to provide some relaxation during one of the busiest travel times of the year. They decorate their halls with holiday lights, host carols and concerts, and bring therapy dogs for group dog counseling.
Portland does all of the above. True to the city's whimsical spirit, it also invites local camelids to the airport to snog passengers. Enter Gregory, President and Founder of Mountain Peaks Therapy Llamas & Alpacas.
“PDX has an ongoing partnership with various therapy animal programs,” said Allison Ferre, media manager for the Port of Portland, which operates the airport. “When we brought back the holiday concessions program this year, we just thought, 'Who better to lead this parade than the llamas and alpacas?'
Gregory's flock wears outfits from the airport's popular carpet pattern, which Napoleon and Smokey wore to the opening of the Concourse E expansion in 2020. For their special appearances over the past two weeks, Beni and Prince wore formal attire.
This year’s theme was “Reindeer.” Gregory and her daughter, Shannon Joy, dressed the couple in antler headbands, sparkly halters with jingling bells and wreaths decorated with poinsettias. Their names and silver snowflakes were engraved on red velvet banners worn like saddles.
“They looked pretty smart,” Gregory said.
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During their two-hour visits, the llamas were treated like celebrities with valet parking, paparazzi and adoring fans. Although the couple had to go through security, they didn't have to undergo any petting, which they might have liked given the extra pets. For their parade, the llamas had several handlers who encouraged onlookers to hug, rub noses and pose for selfies with them.
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Last Wednesday, Beni and Prince attended to an emergency after a plane was delayed due to fog in Seattle. In a TikTok video, a desperate woman throws her arms around 15-year-old Beni and presses her face into his shaggy brown coat.
“Oh my God, I need a therapy llama,” she says, relieved. “I'm so happy right now.”
Gregory said llamas are often misunderstood. Unlike videos of animals misbehaving, the trainable beasts of burden native to South America typically don't spit, jump on people or bite. In fact, they only have teeth at the bottom of the front part of their mouth.
“I think their PR wasn’t as positive as the alpacas,” she said of her smaller cousins.
Gregory, who cares for nearly a dozen llamas and alpacas with her daughter, said they hope to return to PDX with their brood next year. However, if travelers need some llama love even sooner, the farm offers free therapy sessions. Call ahead to make an appointment.
correction
An earlier version of this article contained a caption that gave the wrong year for a photo of Napoleon and Smokey. The photo was taken in 2020.