nuzzle

“I don’t want to lose a finger,” Marc said as a chestnut horse nuzzled his palm.

Then something subtle but definitive occurs as Chris rises off his couch: a man and a woman lean in and nuzzle his neck, coaxing both a shiver and a smile out of him.

He followed this pair across rocky hillside for a couple of hours and took his shot when the male paused to nuzzle the female.

He nuzzles the other side of her neck and says: "It smells good".

For a veteran with PTSD, a service dog may retrieve medication or perform anxiety-relieving actions like nuzzling or leaning against a person when the dog senses a heightened state of anxiety.