Guide dogs are the most famous assistance dogs in France, but they are far from the only ones! Various associations also train assistance dogs for people with reduced mobility, to detect epileptic seizures before they occur in their master or even to listen instead of their deaf or hard of hearing masters. It was without counting on a whole new kind of service dog in France of which Lol is the first representative!
Read also: Dogs detect malaria by sniffing socksA dog to free the voice of victims
" A legal assistance dog or psychological support dog, is a dog educated in order to be able to appease the victims, and in particular the children, during a legal hearing in order to get them to express themselves more easily . The presence of the dog, which we know is reassuring, helps them to better live this type of trying and traumatic experience."
This project germinated in the mind of Frédéric Almendros, the Cahors prosecutor, and was made possible by the formation of the Handi'chiens association, specializing in the training of assistance dogs for people epileptic and/or disabled.
While this initiative is unprecedented in France, legal assistance dogs have already proven themselves for many years in Canada and the United States.
Lol, the first French legal aid dog
It's Lol, a superb Labrador with a black coat and a sweet look who was chosen by the Handi'chiens association to be the 1er dog of legal assistance in France.His role is to comfort the victims before and after their hearing by letting himself be caressed and cuddled in order to release their speech gently.
His training mainly consisted in socializing him to human beings and making him as imperturbable as possible so that he is not frightened by the environment of a court: slamming doors, lawyers in dresses, people who raise their voices etc.
It was Thursday March 14, 2019 that Lol, two years old, was officially handed over to the Cahors firefighters to take care of and accompany the Labrador with the victims during their testimony, if they request it from the prosecutor. . Marie-Claude Lebret, the founder of the Handi'chien association, specifies in the columns of Le Figaro that the association does not currently train other dogs for legal assistance but that other training will be done when there is will have new requests.