Nervous passengers preparing to board flights at Nice Côte d'Azur Airport late last year were offered an unusual source of emotional support – a dog to pet.
One-year-old Eko, a cross between a Pyrenean mountain dog and a golden retriever, is trained to single out the people who might need her most.
In the 90 minutes that The Connexion shadowed them, Eko approached five travellers to help allay their fears.
“I take my lead from Eko – I am guided by her senses,” said Ms Schindelman.
Once Eko has identified a person, Ms Schindelman tries to engage them in conversation while Eko puts them further at ease with gentle physical interaction.
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For Valentin Maguet, the effect was immediate: “I enjoy the company of animals,” said the barber awaiting a flight to Paris. “To have soothing cuddles from a calming animal presence helps a great deal.”
The Connexion’s visit marked the fourth time Ms Schindelman and Eko have worked at Nice airport – the first in Europe to offer such a service.
The results have been so positive that the airport is considering a monthly partnership.
Though none of the passengers during our visit were overly stressed or anxious, even confident flyers can benefit from Eko’s presence, the airport’s communications service insisted.
Eko puts passengers at ease with gentle physical interactionThéophile Larcher
“Eko creates a cheerful atmosphere and helps take passengers’ minds off the usual stresses of air travel,” it said.
Nice airport is not the only place Eko works: she has also visited people in care homes, hospitals and prisons, and has even been on hand to help students taking their Brevet exams.
Such animal-assisted therapy (zoothérapie in French) has been gaining traction in France in recent years.
It works by using trained animals alongside a therapist to help people with physical, emotional, or mental health goals, leveraging the animal's calming, non-judgmental presence to lower stress and encourage communication.
The Institut Français de Zoothérapie (IFZ) and the Université Clermont Auvergne are two of the most widely known training centres in France.
Animal-assisted therapy is also offered via visits to dedicated centres.
Kate Mason, a British English teacher and médiatrice animalière in Ain department, is the founder of Equiecho, an animal-assisted therapy company.
She has worked with everyone from school-phobic students to stage four cancer patients, but was particularly moved by sessions with juvenile offenders and horses.
“It was such a positive experience for them. They were always really happy to be so close to a horse. It showed that you can still learn things about yourself and have a safe space over one afternoon. It opened and validated them,” she said.
Her experience echoes that of Ms Schindelman’s, who reported how much inmates opened up when they came in contact with Eko, as well as that of Mélanie Laur-Michaud’s, the founder of Des animaux contre les maux in Montrollet (Charente-Maritime), who works with the elderly.
Ms Laur-Michaud said her dogs greatly increased communication among people in care homes, who often suffer from loneliness.
“The things you see sometimes are quite extraordinary,” she said. “Animals truly calm people down.”
2025 saw a record 446 reports on the health benefits of animal-assisted therapy published on medical database PubMed. Many highlight general stress reduction, anxiety relief, and a physiological calming effect; similar results have been recorded for those with PTSD, autism, and in rehabilitation.
Dogs are the most studied animals – horses and small animals such as rabbits and guinea pigs less so.
Many French hospitals now also offer dog-assisted animal therapy. In Paris, the Sainte-Périne, Bretonneau and Sainte-Anne hospitals all have partnerships with zoothérapeutes on a weekly or monthly basis. The Institut Curie even adopted Snoopy, the first full-time hospital dog, three years ago.
All zoothérapeutes work hand-in-hand with medical professionals, filing reports for each of their sessions.
For her part, Ms Schindelman has recently launched an association called Dogs for Global Support in an effort to spread awareness nationwide.
She said that the benefits of working with Eko are clear: “We live in a time where indifference is widespread.
“I find it extraordinary that animals can still light up a little bit of our daily lives”.
