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November 13, 2019

Meet the airport therapy pig hogging all the attention at San Francisco International Airport

WATCH: Meet the airport therapy pig hogging the attention at San Francisco International

Lilou isn't your average pig.

She's spreading smiles to harried travelers everywhere as the world's first airport therapy pig. About once a month she heads to San Francisco International Airport to comfort stressed fliers, play with kids and generally make air travel a bit more fun.

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✈️Airport Therapy✈️: I’ve got the coolest, most beautiful and diverse Wag Brigade 🐶 colleagues spreading joy and cheer at SFO Airport 😍 @jaggerdwagger with the best man bun known to me, @georgemorkie my sweet little buddy we missed so much, @bowtiebenga another cutest pilot chick👩‍✈️, @wrigley.murphy_newdles the big and gentle bear and @bombaythelab the new friend who did think I was a weird dog at first 😂. Hardly anyone could resist smiling. This time we got to film the evidence with @reuters 🎞 🎥 💕🐷 - @flysfo @sfowagbrigade @sanfranciscospca - - - - - #sfpig #lilouthepig #lilou #therapypig #petpig #citypig #minipig #pigsofinstagram @thedodo @buzzfeedanimals @abc7newsbayarea @ktvu2 @kpixtv @theellenshow #buzzfeedanimals #abc7now #thedodo #therapyanimal #bayareabuzz #onlyinSF @onlyinsf @cutepetclub @peopletv @9gag #WagBrigade #animalassistedtherapy #airportfashion #airportlife #travelblogger #volunteer #charity #smileambassador #pigambassador #travelbug #airportstyle #spreadlove #spreadjoy @reuters @reuterstv #reuters #filmmaker #interspeciesfriendship

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/> And she's got such a fan base on social media that one traveler switched their flight to meet her, Tatyana Danilova, Lilou's owner, told "Good Morning America."
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✈️Airport Therapy✈️:❓If you could go anywhere in the world 🗺 today, where would you go❓P.S. There is no better treat in this world on any day of the week than a ”Piggacino” Thank you @jenbtricky 😍💕🐷 @flysfo @sfowagbrigade @sanfranciscospca - - - - - #sfpig #lilouthepig #lilou #therapypig #petpig #citypig #minipig #pigsofinstagram @thedodo @buzzfeedanimals @abc7newsbayarea @ktvu2 @kpixtv @theellenshow #buzzfeedanimals #abc7now #thedodo #therapyanimal #bayareabuzz #onlyinSF @onlyinsf @cutepetclub @peopletv @9gag #WagBrigade #animalassistedtherapy #airportfashion #airportlife #travelblogger #volunteer #charity #smileambassador #pigambassador #travelbug #airportstyle #spreadlove #spreadjoy @starbucks #starbuckssecretmenu #coffeeaddict

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/> Lilou also spends her free time volunteering in hospitals and at schools, Danilova said. Lilou and the other animals in the Wag Brigade are all certified by the San Francisco SPCA.
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Happy Wednesday!! We made it over the hump! Long weekend is coming up 😜😘🐷 - - - - #sfpig #lilouthepig #lilou #therapypig #petpig #citypig #pigsofinstagram @buzzfeedanimals @theellenshow #buzzfeedanimals #thedodo #smileambassador #pigambassador #therapyanimal #bayareabuzz #onlyinSF @cutepetclub @peopletv @9gag @overheardsanfrancisco @overheardmarinasf @people @onlyinsf #animalassistedtherapy #travelblogger #spreadlove #spreadjoy #bayarea #luxurylifestyle #dressedtoimpress #snoutrules #officespace #workaholics #workoutroutine #workoutmotivation #workfromhome #wfh #wednesdaywisdom #lovemyjob

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Our Memorial Day was spent in Los Angeles, advocating for mental health awareness and bringing many therapeutic smiles to adults and kids! It was at a very well-organized event for @werise_la project of LA’s Department of Mental Health on a cool rooftop downtown. My fellow 🐶 therapists @deafdal @maggieandrossi @gigimakesmesmile @mistricks associated with @petsonq didn’t quite know what to think of me. @mistricks and @deafdal were especially hilariously curious 🙈😂🐷 I guess they don’t see a city pig every day. But everyone was awesome, warm and kind. I had a LOT of fun on this road trip. How was your weekend? 😘💕🐷 - - #sfpig #lilouthepig #lilou #therapypig #petpig #citypig #pigsofinstagram @buzzfeedanimals @theellenshow #buzzfeedanimals #thedodo #smileambassador #pigambassador #therapyanimal #bayareabuzz #cityofangels @cutepetclub @peopletv @9gag @overheardsanfrancisco @people @onlyinsf @overheardla #animalassistedtherapy #travelblogger #spreadlove #spreadjoy #socal #dressedtoimpress #lovemyjob #communityservice #mentalhealthawareness #mentalhealth #humananimalbond #tbt #californiadreaming #mentalhealthawarenessmonth

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Danilova reveals when Lilou will be coming to the airport on social media in advance of the visit. "It's kind of like a lottery," she said. "People get so excited if they're going to be traveling that day."

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What does a classy San Francisco pig do on a weekend?.. But go to the Symphony of course! @sfsymphony 🐷🎼 🎶 💕🐽 - - - #sfpig #lilouthepig #lilou #therapypig #petpig #citypig #pigsofinstagram @thedodo @buzzfeedanimals @theellenshow @overheardsanfrancisco #buzzfeedanimals #abc7now #thedodo #therapyanimal #bayareabuzz #onlyinSF @onlyinsf @cutepetclub @9gag #smileambassador #pigambassador #holidayseason #spreadlove #spreadjoy #kindnessmatters #chinesenewyear #yearofthepig #classyandsassy #classylady #symphony #musicappreciation #cultured #sfsymphony

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If you should find yourself at SFO, Lilou usually hangs out in terminal 3 on her volunteer days. "It's because of her hoofs, which we call her high heels," Danilova said. "She prefers the carpeting."