Recently, a few special visitors dropped by the Liberty Center at NAS Patuxent River to hang out with the Sailors and share a little love.

Since 2012, on the third Thursday of each month, dogs from Pets on Wheels – a non-profit volunteer organization that brings therapy animals to facilities across Maryland – participate in “Paws to Relax,” a Liberty Center event that brings together dogs and E1-E6 single or unaccompanied Sailors for some warm and fuzzy socialization.

“The Sailors work a lot; sometimes they’re stressed or homesick,” explained Chad Rogers, Liberty Center recreation assistant and interim manager. “This lets them spend quality time with dogs. They’ll get down on the floor with them, play with them, throw balls to them, and ask questions about them. It gives them something to do and makes them feel better.”

Pets on Wheels’ Southern Maryland coordinator, Sharon Stapf, said pets can serve as an aid to relaxation; help relieve stress; improve mood; and decrease feelings of loneliness, anxiety and depression.

“I’m a registered nurse and I’ve seen over the years that animals can help us in ways we are just starting to learn about,” said Stapf, who was accompanied on an Aug. 18 visit by Sky, her gregarious long-haired husky/collie mix. “Therapy pets can be beneficial in helping with pain management, lowering blood pressure and respiratory rate, providing comfort; there is even ongoing research that suggests they can help in the healing process of veterans and people with [posttraumatic stress disorder] and well as traumatic brain injury. The research also indicates it may be beneficial in decreasing the risk of suicide.”

One to three teams of volunteers and dogs show up each month for an hour or two, depending on how many Sailors are in attendance.

“The dogs think it’s all about them, so there must be the requisite petting allotment allowance,” Stapf said, jokingly. “We’ll sit and socialize, we might share a movie, and sometimes we’ll go out and walk to visit more people if the weather is nice.”

Besides Sky, other frequent four-legged visitors include Manning, a cocker spaniel; Sydney Belle, a labrador retriever; Callie, a border collie mix; and a loving lab mix named Cookie, the senior of the canine group.

“During one of the bad winter storms we had, one Sailor who’d been scraping ice off planes and everything else for three days, had the choice of going to sleep or coming to visit the dogs,” Stapf recounted. “He came to visit the dogs. He told me he ‘really needed this.’ That’s when you know you’re making a difference.”

To learn more about Pets on Wheels, whose motto is “providing friendly pets visits to help lick loneliness,” visit www.petsonwheels.org.