When you walk through the doors of the Marriott on the Country Club Plaza you'll notice a new team member eager to greet you. Her name -- KC and it's the 16 month old service dog's first gig.
"We have noticed a difference in our team members and our guests," said general manager Brett Ellison. "We have CEOs, we have meeting planners, we even have wedding guests that their smiles tell the entire story. It's stressful to often times travel and we believe KC actually helps de-stress a lot of our road warriors."
Ellison is KC's handler. She went through an extensive training program, as did he. Now she spends her time greeting guests and employees.
"It's really great for a lot of people because they themselves have dogs that they had to leave at home to come on a business trip so she fills the dog void they have," said Lindsey Green, one of the hotel's employees. She said she has noticed a visible difference in the morale since KC arrived at the hotel six weeks ago.
She splits her time between greeting guests in the hotel lobby and helping kids at the Children's Place in Brookside recover from traumatic experiences.
"We help empower the children, the kids as young as two-and-a-half years old get to walk KC up and down the hallway," said Ellison. "They are able to give her a few of the commands she knows well. To see the smiles on their faces and to see that sense of empowerment is fantastic."
And while she's certified, KC's is really just like every other pet because her life's work is being dedicated to service and making people's lives a little bit happier.
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Terra Hall can be reached at terra.hall@kshb.com.
You can also follow her on Twitter.
