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Meet ‘Dr. Peyo’ — France’s Only 4-Legged Doc
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Meet France’s 4-Legged Doctor ‘Dr. Peyo’ the Therapy Horse Will See You Now!
Peyo has been working as a therapy horse since 2016 and stood vigil by the bedsides of more than 1,000 people, bringing them comfort and letting their children ride him through the hospital halls. It’s an amazing achievement for a 15-year-old horse! Of course, Peyo is far from the only animal visiting hospitals to bring people comfort. Here in the U.S., Johns Hopkins partners with more than 15 volunteer therapy dog teams that make patients smile, lower their blood pressure, improve their mood, and reduce their pain. At least 45 hospitals in the country have similar programs. Want to know if your local hospital employs therapy animals? Visit their website to find out. You might be surprised by what you learn!
about Peyo, The Guardian reported, “After shows, he would pick out people in the crowd, approach them, and choose to stay next to them.” This was the first sign of Peyo’s secret talent: Like a bomb-sniffing dog, it appears Peyo can detect cancerous tumors. In the hospital, he uses a raised hoof to point his trainer toward rooms he’d like to visit. Inside, he comforts the dying patients and their families. “What really pushed scientists to take an interest in him and open the health establishment doors to us was this [seeming] ability to greatly reduce [the patients’ dosage of] all hard drugs and thus allow a more peaceful departure,” Peyo’s trainer, Hassen Bouchakour, told The Guardian.
Imagine you’re sitting in a French hospital, minding your own business and waiting for a doctor to see you. Suddenly, the elevator doors slide open and a full-sized horse clip-clops out into the waiting room! That might sound like something out of a children’s book, but it’s actually a regular occurrence at Calais Hospital. There, a therapy horse named Peyo visits sick and dying patients to help ease their anxiety, bring them comfort, and distract them from their pain. Peyo — affectionately known as “Dr. Peyo” by the staff at Calais — wasn’t always a therapy horse. In his early life, he competed in dressage, but it didn’t take long for his trainer to realize Peyo was more interested in the crowd than the competition. In a moving article
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