At the Cahors court, the Salle des Pas Perdus suddenly seems emptier. Lol, first legal assistance dog from France and Europe, this black labrador that the victims hugged against them before entering the hearing, has just hung up his harness. Officially, he retired on Tuesday April 7, 2026, after several years spent at the heart of criminal proceedings. His name made you smile, his daily life much less so.
Since 2019, this dog trained by the Handi’Chiens association has accompanied hundreds of hearings, confrontations and court trials. First in Cahors, then in other jurisdictions which requested his presence, he sat at the feet of paralyzed victims, sometimes children, sometimes adults. Over time, this dog-justice pairing ended up leaving its mark on all those who crossed its path. But this very special role had a price for him.
Lol, the first legal assistance dog: an experiment that became a model
The adventure began under the leadership of Frédéric Almendro, then public prosecutor of Cahors, who decided to adapt the idea of dogs present with victims in certain foreign countries to the French context. We needed a gentle, stable animal, capable of moving through the corridors of a court without being overwhelmed by noise or tension. Handi’Chiens therefore selected Lol, then prepared it for more than a year, at a cost estimated at around €17,000. At the end of this training, he became the very first legal assistance dog of the country.
Concretely, Lol never “pleads”. He is content to be there, lying next to an armchair, his head resting on the knees of a victim or under the courtroom table. His mere presence helps some people endure a difficult story, or stay in the room when they would have run out. This silent role, initially thought of as a local experiment, quickly gave ideas to other courts.
A calming presence for victims, a system in full expansion
Professionals often describe these dogs as real emotional sponges, capable of capturing distress with a look or a shake of the hand. Many victims who could no longer speak began to tell their stories again while stroking Lol’s black fur. A study carried out among minors showed that 84% agreed to testify when a dog was at their side, compared to only 34% in its absence. For justice, this concrete change weighs heavily in cases where every word counts.
Faced with this success, the system gradually became widespread. Lol today leaves behind around thirty legal assistance dogs, also trained by Handi’Chiens and assigned to different courts or investigation services. Their training lasts between 11 and 15 months, between a host family and a specialized center, before being handed over free of charge to judicial structures. We now see them as much in the hearing rooms as in the corridors of the palaces, blue harnesses on their backs.
Professional burnout and quiet retirement for the Cahors labrador
This particular kind of profession, however, ends up wearing you out. On Lol, the first signals appeared physically: “He’s tired. When he attends, he is the one who feels the emotion. He’s losing his hair!“, confides lawyer Me Mustapha Yassfy, president of France Victimes 46, to La Dépêche. Veterinarians and educators alike spoke of accumulated stress, of fatigue linked to the repetition of very emotionally charged situations. To protect the dog, the decision was taken to anticipate his retirement, while he still had requests all over France.
Since this spring of 2026, the black Labrador has left the court behind to join a former police officer, who was already one of his contacts. His new life resembles that of an “ordinary” dog: walks, naps, games, far from the black dresses and padded doors of courtrooms. Meanwhile, the thirty legal assistance dogs now in service continue to accompany the victims, in the discreet wake of this pioneer named Lol.