San Francisco Airport Welcomes a Pig to Its Team of Therapy Dogs
Back in 2013, San Francisco International Airport (SFO) introduced the "Wag Brigade," a team of trained dogs that help stressed and frenzied travelers relax before their flights. As of this week, the Wag Brigade welcomed its first non-canine member — a pig named LiLou. The almost 2 year old Juliana-breed pig is the first of her kind to be certified in the Animal Assisted Therapy Program in San Francisco.
LiLou has several costumes and apparently can even perform tricks as well, such as dancing and playing a toy piano! The Wag Brigade has become popular at SFO, and airport authorities were looking for ways to bring other animals into the fold. Once LiLou was certified by the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, it was a no-brainer to bring her on to the squad. LiLou has no set schedule for when she'll be on duty, but you can expect to see her walking about the terminals about once a month.
SFO isn't the only airport to recognize the value in providing therapy animals to help stressed-out passengers. Several other airports have teams of therapy dogs including Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO), San Jose International Airport (SJC) and Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG), which even sees some visits from miniature therapy horses.
Have you visited with any therapy animals in an airport?
H/T: USA Today
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