Little Star measures just 2 feet tall and weighs 110 pounds; he is called a “micro mini” but this little guy has one huge heart.
Along with his human, Diane Hall of Santa Barbara, CA, the duo travel around town in their Volkswagen van to visit Hospice patients, nursing homes, children with special needs, schools, and anyone in need of a smile.
The Little Star Pony Foundation got is start with the help of one very special little girl, Gwendolyn Strong, who was diagnosed at 6 months old with type I spinal muscular atrophy and had to wear a respirator to help her breathe because the muscles around her lungs were atrophied. Gwendolyn could not speak, sit, stand, walk, eat or breathe without assistance. Diane, a patient care volunteer for Hospice, was assigned to help the Strong family in January 2009. Taking the family on a day trip to see miniature horses and seeing how Gwendolyn responded to them and the joy it brought the whole family inspired Diane to find a mini of her own to be able to help Gwendolyn and other families in need. She found Little Star who turned out to be the perfect fit and quickly became a certified pet-therapy animal. Over the last decade, he and Diane have gone on to touch countless hearts and aren’t slowing down anytime soon. In his spare time Little Star lives with his buddy and companion mini, 30-inch-tall Zorro and enjoys treats, scratches and kicking up his heels in turn out.