Meet Peyo, the horse that detects cancer and takes care of sick people
Peyo is a 14-year-old horse that his owner, Hassen Bouchakour, used in dressage shows. After shows, the horse would seek out contact with specific individuals in the crowd. It was thanks to this that Bouchakour discovered something surprising: Peyo has the ability to detect if people are suffering from cancer or are otherwise weak or dying.
Peyo’s amazing ability not only serves to diagnose diseases that have not yet shown their face. It’s also been proven that his presence can help to improve the quality of life of patients in a hospital. In some cases, his visits have even made it possible to reduce the patients’ medication.
The staff is familiar with the horse; he enters the building with Bouchakour and passes through a sanitary protocol, then gets on the elevator and decides which room to visit. Peyo is thoroughly cleaned and disinfected before and after each hospital visit.
He’s close and affectionate with the sick, nuzzling up to them and sometimes licking them. “He’s a horse that behaves differently with people in delicate condition,” Bouchakour explains.
Equine therapy has been in use for many years. But Peyo’s gift for detecting illnesses and his ability to be part of the treatment of hospitalized patients have led to his being scientifically studied by experts in palliative care, geriatrics and pediatrics.
A visit from Peyo is a high point in the day-to-day life of patients at these French hospitals, while opening up hopeful horizons for medicine.
Adaptado de: < https://aleteia.org/2021/06/02/meet-peyo-the-horse-that-detects-cancer-and-takes-care-of-sick-people/> Acessado em 09 de outubro de 2021
