Tonka, the superhero of the Alençon hospital, helps young victims of violence

The Alençon-Mamers Intercommunal Hospital Center (Chicam) has a new partner: Tonkaa four-legged superhero, ready to change the game for victims of violence.

Arrived on June 6 within the service, this young two year old golden retrieverspecially trained to support victims of violence during legal procedures is already the star of the corridors of Alençon hospital (Orne), with its joyful and reassuring appearance.

A comforting presence

Tonka is not just a dog, she is a real teammate for those facing difficult times. And he’s just started. Its public presentation, Friday June 28, 2024, nevertheless attracted both the press and officials, in particular gendarmes, police officers and doctors, who came to salute this excellent initiative.

Tonka is now full member of the Medical-Judicial Reception Unit (UAMJ) and The pediatric reception unit for children in dangerr (UAPED) of Alençon.

“Tonka is the third legal assistance dog to join a hospital in France”, confides to us Christophe Mazin, director of Chicam.

Tonka’s role is essential: he brings moral and psychological support to victims, particularly children from 5 to 18 years old, who come to the hospital for medical examinations, often after serious trauma.

With Tonka, in the specially dedicated room, facing the investigators, the children find their voice and courage during the filmed auditions. “Tonka helps reduce anguish, anxiety, especially separation from parents,” assures Dr. Frederic Briand, at the head of UAMJ-UAPED.

A dog like no other

Tonka also brings comfort during daily consultations. “It breaks the ice and lightens the atmosphere. The exchanges are immediately less solemn,” adds Dr. Briand, who takes care of the dog in the hospital and outside of his duty hours.

Florian Auffret, head of the training department at Handi’Dogs, underlines that the integration of Tonka is above all a victory for children: “We deplore in France more than 160,000 victims of aggression per year, and we certainly only know 10% of the real facts. The first results are promising, the presence of a dog would allow freedom of speech in 70% of cases. »

Training de pro

Tonka was not chosen at random. After 16 months of intensive training at Handi’Chiens, including a stay in a host family and specialized training in legal assistance in Alençon, he is ready to exercise his role. “From the beginning, Tonka showed that he was up to the task, calming and already very professional”emphasizes Dr. Briand, who clearly adores this dog for whom he is responsible and who forces him to walk much more every day than he was used to.

A pioneering initiative

Since 2019, the project legal assistance dogs has already proven itself, training 18 dogs, before Tonka, at Handi’chiens, which is the only association accredited to train such experts in thesilent assistance but highly comforting.

In Alençon, this project was led by Dr Briand with the support of Christophe Mazin and the staff of Chicam, the Handi’Chien center of course, but also of Prosecutors of Alençon and Argentan, President of the Bar Associationfrom the Association Victim Support, Citizenship, Justice and Mediation (ACJM) of Alençon, proof of the importance given to the role of this animal.

With a cost of €17,000 per dog, funded by Handi’Chiens and the generous Ladies’ Circles of Alençon, every step of Tonka’s preparation has been covered. Her maintenance is provided by the Adrienne and Pierre Sommer Foundation.

Follow all the news from your favorite cities and media by subscribing to Mon -.