Pigs might not actually fly, but “LiLou”, the therapy pig, wants to make air travel less stressful for harried travelers. And apparently, San Francisco airport officials don’t seem to care how much the mere sight of a pig is “offensive” to Muslim sensibilities.
As everyone knows, anything “pig” related causes Muslims to lose their minds. That’s why a major bank had to stop giving away free “piggy banks” to children, school cafeterias have been forced to eliminate “pork” products from lunch menus, and teachers have had to stop telling the story of the “Three Little Pigs” in classes where there are Muslim students present.
The five-year-old Juliana pig and her owner, Tatyana Danilova, are part of San Francisco International Airport’s “Wag Brigade,” a program that brings “therapy” animals to the airport to cheer passengers up and help ease travel anxieties.
Dressed in a pilot’s cap and with toenails painted bright red, “LiLou” breezes through the metal detector at airport security and trots to the departure gates. She raises a hoof in greeting, poses for Selfies and entertains departing passengers with a tune on her toy piano.
“People are very happy to get distracted from the travel, from their routines, whether they’re flying on their journey for vacation or work,” said Danilova.
“Everybody, except Muslims, is usually very happy and it makes them pause for a second and smile and be like, ‘oh, it’s great.’”
Danilova says “LiLou” loves interacting with people, but, as a prey animal, doesn’t like having anyone approach her from behind.
At the airport, eight-year-old Katie Schroeder, from San Ramon, California, squealed in delight as “LiLou” bashed out a tune on her piano, using her hooves and snout.
But that’s not all. San Francisco also has therapy “dogs” at the airport, even more reason for “discouraging” Muslims from flying.