Children at the Tampa General Hospital were in for a special treat when Spirit the Unicorn stopped by to visit.
Spirit, accompanied by a winged fairy, visited the children in the Florida hospital. Since Spirit the Unicorn is a magical animal, the children each got to touch Spirit's horn while making a special Christmas wish.
The fairy (whose name is Brittany Beard) and Spirit are both members of Unicorn Hugs, a nationwide organization which visits hospitals and nursing homes with trained therapy animals. They make these special visits on weekdays and perform at Renaissance festivals on the weekends.
The kids in the hospitals have never seen a unicorn before, so Spirit's visit is always extra special.
Take a look at these beautiful reactions to this magical unicorn below:
Therapy animals provide valuable help to kids and adults in a variety of situations. They're popular in hospitals and nursing homes, where a special visit from an animal can bring distraction, hope, entertainment, and relief from the effects of dealing with a serious health condition.
Therapy animals receive training to perform their special visits, and it takes a special animal to be able to meet strangers confidently and warmly over and over again. They need to be calm, well-trained, obedient, and enjoy interacting with people that they've never met before.
You can see from Spirit's visit how beneficial a visit from a therapy animal can be. It's just one way that animals can change our lives for the better.
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This article was originally published December 27, 2017.
