The city has opened up a center to help migrants file their asylum applications — and a pair of workers there are going above the call of duty.

Shea and Atticus, two therapy dogs with The Good Dog Foundation, have been visiting the center to help put newcomers embroiled in a bureaucratic process at ease. 

The city has partnered with the nonprofit organization to help migrants after the traumatic journey of fleeing their home countries.

One of those migrants, Maria Quintero, made her way to the city from Venezuela to seek asylum with her two daughters, Angeles and Ismael. 

“My little daughter usually doesn’t like animals, but in this case, she saw them and got entertained, even touched them," Quintero, speaking in Spanish, said of the therapy dogs. "She usually doesn’t touch dogs."

Quintero said they made it to the city through the kindness of strangers who let them hitchhike to the border.

“My baby, the youngest one, I was carrying her, and she was tired. My older daughter too,” she said. “We did walk quite a bit, but thank God we always encountered good people."

Now finally able to apply for asylum, Quintero said the trauma of the journey is still very much with the little girls. The dogs, though, brought out a sparkle from her girls she hadn’t seen in a while.

“They stayed still, and they forgot about the tiredness of the journey, enjoying the animals. It was actually a pretty nice situation,” Quintero said.

Rachel McPherson founded The Good Dog Foundation 25 years ago. She's taken the dogs to help out after many crises, including fires, shootings and Sept. 11. 

“Mental health is really in a crisis in our country, and therapy dogs, that’s why we are really here to help,” McPherson said. “By expanding the program with asylum seekers, you know that an asylum seeker is under extreme trauma, and all disasters deal with individuals that are experiencing trauma."

New York City Emergency Management has partnered with the nonprofit since 2019, originally to help its staff. Andy Perlman, program manager from the Office of Emergency Management, said the agency was concerned about its employees burning out, and he’s seen a change in the office.

“It’s not just for the families, it’s for the staff as well,” Perlman said. “We just find people being a lot more resilient and a lot more relaxed in their day-to-day activities."

For asylum seekers like Quintero, the dogs have put her kids at ease as she fills out her paperwork to apply for asylum.

Because of Shea and Atticus, she's seen the first smiles from her daughters that she's seen in a while.

“I have truly created a future for my daughters, coming from the situation in Venezuela and building a life. It’s not just something insignificant,” Quintero said.