Union Station in Washington, DC, serves approximately 100,000 passengers each day via Amtrak, commuter trains, local metro trains, and buses. Since April of this year, these visitors have been delighted to meet Synergy, a female piglet who serves as a wellness ambassador at the train station.
Synergy is a new addition to The H3 Project, a crisis intervention and anti-human-trafficking group founded on January 1, 2020, by Dr. Ami Angell. The name of the group refers to their priorities of home, health, and happiness.
When not working with homeless clients, Dr. Angell and a leashed Synergy can be seen roaming in and around Union Station, where they are stopped every few yards by admiring travellers wanting a selfie, to pet Synergy, or to talk. Synergy’s popularity brings many people from disparate ages, backgrounds, and stations in life together and talking when they otherwise rarely would. There are some regular commuters who more frequently see Synergy, and she seems to recognize them. When she would prefer to walk through the station without being noticed, Dr. Angell carries Synergy in a soft sling across her body.
Synergy was born at a breeder’s farm in Michigan on December 21, 2025. She is a Juliana pig, a hypoallergenic breed known for being friendly and often called “mini pigs.” At 6.4 lbs, Synergy can easily be carried, but as a piglet, does not have much endurance. She can expect to grow until age 5 to an expected weight of between 40 and 80 lbs. At that point, she will have more endurance for walking, but would no longer be able to go into incognito mode in the sling.
After being evaluated by a veterinarian and an animal psychologist to ensure she had the proper temperament, Synergy earned the status of Emotional Support Animal (ESA). Pigs are extremely intelligent and emotional animals and can detect human distress and can calm people experiencing panic attacks or symptoms of PTSD. They are often used in hospitals, nursing homes, schools, and airports to ease stress and to bring joy. Synergy is also litter trained and can run an obstacle course and enjoys pressing the keys of a toy piano.
Union Station is a prominent transportation hub for passengers and commuters, offering climate control, restrooms, restaurants, and Wi-Fi, while also serving as a resource for the local homeless population. AMTRAK and the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation have been partners with h3 since 2020, and donated a space for the group to store their supplies and to use as an office. Synergy lives with Dr. Angell, not at Union Station. Passengers love seeing something positive and humane being done about the homeless population.
In the last year, Angell has matched 93 individuals with housing, administered 217 doses of the overdose reversal drug Narcan and ordered 537 documents, including legal identification. AMTRAK police know to call H3 if they witness someone having a crisis. When working with a client, Dr. Angell places a sash on Synergy’s leash which reads, “I am Working, Please Do Not Disturb.” Dr. Angell is a nonsmoker, but carries cigarettes on her to offer to her homeless clients as a way to buy time and to build rapport when someone is in crisis.
Synergy functions in a similar way. Most of H3’s clients have never seen a live pig, let alone petted one. One woman in her late 60’s who Dr. Angell has known for seven years continuously refused services. “She was not rude or anything,” Dr. Angell says. “She just wasn’t ready.” When she first saw Synergy, she was delighted and now is willing to accept services.
“Now she wants to work with me,” she says. “As long as the pig is right there, she will answer my questions; she will do the work with me. She’s moving forward because of Synergy.”
People come to train stations for a wide variety of reasons. Dr. Angell and H3 have found a creative way to make the experience more enjoyable and to improve people’s lives in an impactful way.