O'Hare is all ready for Wednesday, one of the airport's busiest days of the year

FOX 32 NEWS - With Thanksgiving on their minds, millions of people will head for airports and highways on Wednesday.

For holiday travelers who get stressed out by long lines and delayed flights, there are therapy dogs at O’Hare and Midway. Rocco and Lucia are German Shepard mixes who have been specially trained to comfort the over-anxious.

“We've just kind of been trying to go the gates where we see longer delays for flights, and bringing the therapy dogs around just for comfort, so they have a little break from the waiting for their flights,” said Ann Davison of Canine Therapy Corps.

The Smith family, changing planes on a trip from San Francisco to Cleveland, brought their own canine therapy.

“We got her a few weeks ago, well after we booked a flight to Cleveland for Thanksgiving, and had no other choice,” said holiday traveler Kevin Smith.

The number of trips taken this Thanksgiving is expected to the highest for the holiday period since 2007, before the Great Recession hit.

Triple A says nationwide that 48.7 million Americans will travel over the next four days, including 3.7 million by air. The heaviest travel days will be Wednesday and Sunday. TSA recently added several automated checkpoints at O’Hare to help cope with the crowds. But as always, it’s wise to arrive early and pack smart.

And while many of the travelers are visiting families, some like Judy Durgom of Rockford are using the Thanksgiving holiday to work on their bucket lists.

“I want to see the Macy's Day parade. It's on my bucket list, so I'm hoping I can see it this year,” said Judy Durgom.