Therapy Pony Visits Young Patients in Akron
Willie, a trained therapy pony, makes monthly visits to Akron Children's Hospital, bringing comfort to patients and families.
Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Large Animals
Willie, a therapy pony owned by Victory Gallop, a therapeutic riding school, visited patients at Akron Children's Hospital in Akron. The pony has worked as a therapy animal for eight years and visits hospitals, schools, and nursing homes.
Why it matters
Some hospitals bring in special guests to cheer up lonely patients, and Akron families whose children are receiving care at Akron Children's Hospital can now point to a regular, scheduled visit as one source of comfort during a long stay. The visits show how a trained animal can offer a brief, cheerful break for patients who spend extended time away from home.
Willie has worked as a therapy pony for eight years and was trained over eight months before taking hospital visits. The pony visits Akron Children's Hospital once a month and has also visited patients in the burn unit.
The players
Victory Gallop
A therapeutic riding school that owns Willie and uses him in its therapy program.
Akron Children's Hospital
A pediatric hospital in Akron, Ohio, where Willie visits patients once a month.
The details
Before each hospital visit, Willie receives two baths, one with surgical scrub and one with horse shampoo, and has his feet and tail wrapped in blue veterinary wrap. Training included walking through a home kitchen and bathroom with loud noises and flushing toilets so the pony becomes accustomed to hospital-type environments. In one recent case, Willie visited 16-year-old Angelina Howes in the burn unit, and the week before he had visited her for her birthday. He also visited 15-year-old Aniyah Angel-Thacker in the burn unit after a car crash.
Timeline
Willie visited Angelina Howes for her birthday the previous week.
Willie visits Akron Children's Hospital once a month.
The Home Front
Hospital therapy animal programs like the one at Akron Children's Hospital give families a regular, low-cost source of comfort during extended stays. The visits fit into a broader pattern of hospitals bringing in special guests for lonely patients.
If your family has a child receiving care at Akron Children's Hospital, ask the hospital's child life or patient services team whether visits from therapy animals are available and how scheduling works. Families considering therapy animal programs for a relative or child can also check with their own care team about what visits are offered.
The takeaway
Therapy animal visits can give young patients a welcome break from the routines of a hospital stay. Families interested in similar programs can ask their care team what options are available.
Further reading
For more on animals that serve families, explore our Large Animals coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by KOSU.
