AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy -- The 31st Medical Operations Squadron welcomed a new member into its ranks recently.

He enjoys the outdoors, especially hiking, and loves people. His name is Kelty and he's a pug.

Kelty, 3, is the mental health flight's first-ever certified pet therapy dog, who serves within the flight's new Mental Health Pet Therapy Program. He began working shortly after he and his handler arrived here in August.

"The purpose of pet therapy is to encourage emotional support and enhance the treatment process for the MHF patient population," said Master Sgt. Michael Lee, 31st MDOS MHF chief and Kelty's owner and handler. "I never thought in a million years we'd be able to make this happen, but it has become a tremendous success."

While at work, Kelty supports the mental health flight by helping to break down patient barriers so these patients can better receive care. Patients can hold and pet Kelty to help relax.

"Kelty is trained to provide comfort, companionship and to assist with therapeutic treatment regimens for select patient populations," said Lee. "Right now we're trying to set up a schedule to see which patients would benefit most from him."

According to program guidelines, pet therapy is conducted in select offices at the request of the treating provider and with patient or parent consent. Lee admits that he can't take all the credit for adding a therapy dog to the team.

"I was deployed to Afghanistan, working with the Army, when I met a psychologist who had a certified French bulldog," said Lee. "He brought an amazing sense of calm and peace to a chaotic environment. It was a humbling experience."

When the idea of adding one to his team was brought up, Lee recalled another base organization that uses pet therapy dogs.

"Our leadership met to discuss how we could maximize all that our flight has to offer," Lee said. "Since the base library utilizes therapy dogs, we started discussing how therapy dogs could enhance the services we provide."

He took to his computer to find out how the Army provider from years prior got his French bulldog certified.

"I found the organization and got Kelty certified," said Lee. "He required a thorough physical, to be fully immunized and to pass a rigorous temperament test - a one-day class to see how he'd interact with children, loud noises, distractions and food. The test was what I was most nervous about, but he passed."

Once the program requirements were finalized, everyone involved considered how they could introduce a therapy dog clinically.

"We received full support from leadership," said Lee. "We slowly introduced Kelty to get him and others comfortable, and the team here has been crucial to making this program a success."

Lee's next plan of action is to get Kiva, Lee's other pug, certified. Lee is also assisting other bases' MHFs that have shown interest in creating a similar program, as Aviano Air Base is the only with such a program.

"As any dog owner knows and will tell you, dogs help promote a sense of belonging, connection and unconditional love," he said. "There's no question that Kelty brings an incredible amount of positive energy into the daily work life and working relationship of our team. Thus far utilizing Kelty as part of our team has been an amazing experience."