A Therapy Horse With Uncanny Empathy Can Detect Who Needs Him The Most
March 20, 2021
Meet Doctor Peyo, a French horse with uncanny empathy.
He can tell when people need him and can soothe the pain of those at the palliative stage.
Photo: Jeremy Lempin/Divergence
Doctor Peyo and his owner/trainer Hassen Bouchakour are bringing comfort to adults and children who are being treated for cancer, some in palliative care, at hospitals in Calais, France.
Peyo, a 15-year-old stallion, appears to have an understanding of human suffering.
At the hospital, Peyo tells his trainer which room he wants to enter next by stopping or raising his leg. Peyo seems able to detect when humans have cancers and tumours.
"I accompany him but I let him do what he wants, he's the one who decides," Bouchakour told The Guardian.
Photo: Jeremy Lempin/Divergence
For a long time Peyo and Bouchakour were known for taking part in equestrian shows. But Peyo was constantly looking for human contact.
After shows, he would pick out people in the crowd, approach them and choose to stay next to them. Bouchakour began to suspect Peyo was choosing people who were weakened morally, physically or psychologically.
Photo: Jeremy Lempin/Divergence
A recent patient in the palliative care unit says Peyo is his "favorite doctor."
"Tonight he's going to sleep well [because] he saw Peyo. As soon as he sees him he sleeps like a baby," the patient's wife said.
Since 2016, Bouchakour estimates that Peyo has supported around 1,000 people in the various services in which the duo operates.
It's a lifestyle Bouchakour never anticipated.
"I am to some extent this horse's collateral damage, I didn't ask for this. It took me a while to accept it. It put an end to my successful career as a sportsman, and as a showman. It was very complicated to no longer be the master, and to be forced to admit that when [Peyo] detects someone [is sick], I am no longer in control. When he decides, I cannot hold him back, it's a need, it's visceral, it is in him, he needs to go and cling onto the specific person he has chosen,' says Bouchakour.
Click Here For The Most Popular On Sunny Skyz
A Husky Was Lost. Owners Found Him With A Drone - Hanging Out With Bears
Dog Completely Changes From Black To White
Cat's Face Shows Opposite Of Gratitude After Being Rescued
A First Birthday Reunion Party For The Whole Litter, Mama Pup Included
This Senior Dog Sanctuary Celebrated 12 Years With A Dog Prom
Local Police Department Makes Public Statement To Community On Taylor Swift's New Album
Man And Dog Left Stunned After Cat FLIES Across The Room
The Cat Chooses You: A Boy's Heartwarming Shelter Adoption Story
'Thing Kept Attacking Me': Squirrel Defends Man's Home From Burglar
Dog's Hilarious Windshield Wiper Chase Captured By Motorist
Octopus Takes Woman On Date, Shows Her Underwater Treasures