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For three years, at the Cahors court, a Labrador named Lol has been accompanying people who are victims of violence. Lol soothes, acts as an anti-stress. This allows free speech. #IlsOntLaSolution
Lol arrived in the Lot in 2019. At the time, it was the first legal aid dog in Europe, a concept very developed in North America. In three years, he intervened in numerous cases of attempted homicides, rapes, sexual assaults and domestic violence. This black-haired Labrador reassures victims and helps them to confide in hearings. It is particularly effective with children. “Lol put me in confidence. He distressed me, the anxieties are gone. It was easier to speak and say what we think”, tells Mathilde, victim in a moral case. For those close to this teenager, the presence of the Labrador also brings them comfort. “My daughter is the victim, but so are we, in another way. Lol also feels stressed out, and he comes to us too. There is an interaction,” explains Natalia.
Lol generally intervenes from the start of the legal procedure, from the first hearings before the police and magistrates until the trial. In three years of service, he has supported nearly 120 people. A positive result for the public prosecutor of Cahors who fought to impose it within his court. “Often we think that the dog can be a gadget, it is not at all the case. It is a partner of the legal institution in its own right because it does not have the gaze of humans. is a living psychological crutch that doesn’t judge you “, Frédéric Almendros analysis.
Lol was trained for nearly two years by the Handi’chiens association, before joining the Cahors court. After two years of testing, other legal assistance dogs have entered courts in Nevers, Bobigny, Orléans and Strasbourg.