Therapy Ponies Ease Pre-Flight Stress at YVR

Magic (left) and Tinkerbell (right) with their handlers at YVR

Anxious about flying?

Vancouver International Airport (YVR) has therapy dogs or ambassador dogs to help soothe pre-flight jitters, as part of the airport's Less Airport Stress Initiative (LASI) program that started in 2017.

And now YVR is trialling miniature therapy ponies, making it the first airport in Canada to do this.

"At YVR, we're always looking for creative ways to bring new solutions and amenities to the travel experience, so when we thought about what's the next evolution of the LASI program, introducing therapy ponies... was a great fit," explains Eric Pateman, chief experience officer with the Vancouver Airport Authority.

Magic is three years old, and Tinkerbell is 17, and they are from Green Acres Therapy Horses, which trains the ponies to be experienced in high-traffic public areas like shopping malls, schools and seniors' homes. 

The trial period this summer will see how Magic and Tinkerbell do in the stressful airport environment and the feedback from passengers, though so far it's pretty positive. If all goes well by the end of the pilot, Magic and Tinkerbell may be hanging around YVR more often, along with the therapy dogs from St John's Ambulance.

Therapy llamas a Portland International Airport

Other airports have used different kinds of therapy animals. San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has a "wag brigade" that has calmed passengers since 2013. The team includes 27 dogs and one hypoallergenic pig named Lilou.

Meanwhile last year Portland International Airport started having therapy llamas and alpacas in its terminals to ease passengers' stress levels.

Guess these llamas and alpacas don't spit on humans! Otherwise that would add another stress level to people in the airport!

New PNE Memories

The fluffy cinnamon sugared mini donuts

An annual event is already underway in Vancouver -- the Pacific National Exhibition, or PNE as it is known. For the last few weeks in August, people of all ages descend on the giant grounds to play games in the hopes of winning prizes, or buying tickets with the chance of winning a home, watch the Super Dogs show, go on the rides, eat lots of junk food, from hot dogs and cotton candy to snow cones and mini donuts.

When I was a child my dad would take us to the PNE, but we never got on the rides, like the rickety roller coaster because he deemed them too dangerous, which in turn made us too nervous to even ask to go on them; nor did we get to eat any junk food either because it was terribly unhealthy. 

Large dinosaurs that move and growl

So we'd just walk around, see stuff and then go home. My memories of the PNE weren't the greatest.

Then fast forward to around 2006 when I had a radio assignment to check out the newest rides at the PNE. The ride in question? Free falling from the height of a 10-storey building.

I had the microphone strapped to my hand and the mini disc recorder on record with me screaming for about 10 seconds before landing with a thud onto a giant air cushion. 

I survived to tell the tale.

Over 15 years later I went along with my cousins and nephews to the PNE and experiencing it again. 

We didn't go on the rides as the kids are under six years old, but we saw lots of large dinosaurs that moved their arms and heads and made growling noises. We saw the Super Dogs show which was lots of fun and inspired my cousin to try to train her puppy to do some tricks.

Coleslaw with ribs and brisket (underneath)

We saw some farm animals, like a giant pig with one of her piglets suckling, the other siblings resting together in the hay, and some fluffy yellow chicks that weren't afraid of human touch.

And yes we ate some food -- a stand serving barbecue meats had a decent serving of ribs and beef brisket along with some coleslaw and cornbread.

But it was the mini donuts that stole the show. 

The ones from Tin Lizzy Concessions makes pillowy, fluffy mini donuts that are coated in cinnamon and sugar that are just the best indulgence at the fair. We got a bag for CAD$8 but then I couldn't resist and bought the basket for CAD$15 to bring home!

Picture of the Day: Roasted Pig Eyes

The roast pig with hearts over its eyelids for the emoji age

When you order a whole roast pig at Chinese restaurants, there is this uncomfortable tension of what to do with its eyes.

As per Chinese custom, the whole animal is presented, and even though it's dead, the chef wants to make it seem lively...

Decades ago it started with the bright red maraschino cherries held in place with toothpicks where each eye ball would have been.

Then it was upgraded to flashing red lights! The pig seemed possessed.

Fast forward to 2023, and at a Chinese restaurant in Richmond, the roast pig presentation climbed up a notch with plastic red hearts on its eyelids. 

It's reminiscent of the emoji with the smiling face and two hearts for its eyes.

A roast pig for the emoji age...