Conferences can be energizing, inspiring and fun. They can also be noisy, stressful and tiring, all in a single day.

So when attendees at Dell Technologies World 2019 in April turned a corner at the conference venue and found an exhibit occupied primarily by smiling cuddly dogs, well, how could anyone possibly pass that up?

“When you go to a conference, when you travel, you miss your pets, a lot of people miss their dogs,” said Denise Michaels Cox (pictured, right), senior consultant, global experiential marketing at Dell Technologies Inc. (with dog, Gracie). “We’re here for them to get a dog fix. Everyone who walks in comes in smiling and walks out smiling bigger.”

Cox spoke with Lisa Martin (@LisaMartinTV) and Rebecca Knight (@knightrm), co-hosts of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the Dell Technologies World event in Las Vegas. She was joined by Alicia Halloran (pictured, left), volunteer at Michael’s Angel Paws (with dog, Odie, @odieseyes), and they discussed the mission of the nonprofit group and its benefit for the people it supports (see the full interview with transcript here). (* Disclosure below.)

Strengthening the people/animal bond

Aside from letting conference attendees decompress through puppy power, Michael’s Angel Paws provides the dogs as an important community service. The group trains therapy dogs who visit local hospitals and provide patients with moments of peace and joy, as well as service animals for those with mobility or various health issues.

“It really strengthens the bonds between people and their animal,” Halloran said. “We love to just bring joy and delight everywhere we go.”

While it might be tempting to think the group was named after company founder Michael Dell, it was actually started by a dog trainer and her husband who named the nonprofit after their young son who died shortly after birth in 2011. Michael’s Angel Paws is dedicated to helping those who need a dog to mitigate disabilities or provide comfort when it is needed most.

“Animals don’t differentiate,” Halloran said. “They’re just like, ‘We want to sit with you, and that’s what we’re going to do.’ There’s a lot of healing in that.”

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the Dell Technologies World 2019 event. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for Dell Technologies World. Neither the sponsors of select segments of theCUBE’s event coverage nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE