These miniature therapy horses will help you keep chill at the airport
There are miniature therapy horses at the Cincinnati Airport. We repeat: THERE ARE MINIATURE THERAPY HORSES AT THE CINCINNATI AIRPORT.
Let’s face it, flying is not always fun (okay fine, it’s downright awful sometimes) and recent news stories have us believing it’s only getting worse. But when miniature therapy horses are provided, watch how fast we can change our “flying is a bummer” tune.
The Cincinnati Airport has come up with the best solution we’ve seen for calming nervous and angry passengers. NPR reports that the airport has partnered with the non-profit Seven Oaks Farm to bring 34 therapy horses to the ticketing area twice a month.
Airport official Wendi Orlando says she loves it when the horses show up.
“When you look at the passengers walking by, it just never gets old. They love seeing the horses.”
The airport was initially interested in a dog therapy program, but when they learned about miniature horse therapy program, they wisely agreed to broaden their therapy animal search. The program has been such a hit that some passengers even schedule their flights around the horses’ visiting day. (TBH, we think that’s a brilliant travel strategy.)
But what if you’re not flying through Cincinnati? Don’t panic. We have great news:
More than 30 airports across the ｃountry now have therapy dogs. San Francisco has a therapy pig. And San Jose has a therapy cat.
Having therapy animals at the airport is a program we can 100% get behind. And, for animal lovers who justifiably want to confirm, “this is good for the animals too, right?”, it sure is! The animals love the attention. They have had hundreds of hours of training, work sparse hours, and have excellent handlers ensuring their happiness throughout their “shifts.”
We honestly couldn’t love this more. Going forward, we’ll now book all travel plans not for the most convenient airport or for the most direct flight but by which airport has therapy animals.
Article Source: http://hellogiggles.com/miniature-therapy-horses-airport/
Image Source: http://media2.wcpo.com/photo/2016/05/06/airport_horses2_1462561079127_37723487_ver1.0_640_480.JPG
VOCABULARY WORDS:
1. miniature- a representation or image of something on a small or reduced scale
2. therapy- the treatment of disease or disorders, as by some remedial, rehabilitating, or curative process
3. therapy animals- pet therapy therapy that provides affection and comfort to people in hospitals, retirement homes, nursing homes, schools, hospices, disaster areas, and to people with learning difficulties
4. bummer- any unpleasant or disappointing experience
5. sparse- scanty meager
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
1. What solution has the Cincinnati Airport come up to calm nervous passengers?
2. What is the Seven Oaks Farm?
3. What kind of animal therapy program was the airport initially interested in?
4. What other animals are used in airports for therapy programs?
5. What are some benefits that the therapy animals get in airports?
6. What do you think of this therapy program?
7. What animal do you want to be included in a therapy program and why?
8. What is the best plane trip you ever had? What made it the most memorable one?
