Skip to content
  • Happy Health
  • Happy Mindset
  • Animal Wonders
  • About Us
    • Team
  • Subscribe
Menu
  • Happy Health
  • Happy Mindset
  • Animal Wonders
  • About Us
    • Team
  • Subscribe
Happy News

The Tiniest Therapy Animal Is Stealing Hearts

Pascal, a perfectly coiffed nine year old miniature horse sporting a bowtie, Santa hat, and glittery hooves, has become the star attraction among 50 therapy animals working with Quebec’s Toutous Poilus zoo animation organization. The tiny horse shows off his repertoire of jumps, waves, and bows to delighted residents at care homes across Quebec’s Eastern Townships and greater Montreal area, creating magical moments that transport people back to cherished memories. Owner Anne Caroline Coutu says Pascal has an incredible capacity to connect with people heart to heart, and together with twenty other animals including guinea pigs, doves, cats, bunnies, and dogs, they provide emotional support at residences, long term care homes, and hospitals nearly every day. When Pascal pattered down the hallway at Wales Home in Cleveland, Quebec, she was immediately transported back to her childhood on the family farm and the pony her sister desperately wanted to bring inside the house to eat with them.

Activities coordinator Lysanne Hamel says many residents miss having animals of their own after moving from farms into care facilities, making the monthly visits from Pascal’s troupe incredibly meaningful as residents grieve the loss of their beloved pets. Coutu won Pascal on a Quebec game show in 2016 and quickly began training him to handle urban stressors by dressing him up and bringing him to noisy environments, desensitizing him to the sounds and sights he’d encounter while volunteering. The organization, which Coutu officially launched in 2010 after witnessing the therapeutic benefits animals provided her father following his Alzheimer’s diagnosis, now relies on volunteers to offer 10 to 12 sessions per week with many animals including Pascal being potty trained so they can safely enter healthcare spaces. Longtime volunteer Annie Lavariere says the magic happens because animals don’t judge whether someone is rich or poor, healthy or sick, they simply offer unconditional acceptance and love that creates powerful healing moments for everyone they meet.

Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-therapy-animal-horse-holiday-cheer-9.7021491

PrevPreviousFamous Flight Team Gets Historic New Leader
NextNew Studies Reveal How Walking Daily Can Add Years Of LifeNext

Recent Articles

Happy News

Blind Patients Are Reading Again Thanks To This Tech

March 10, 2026

For people who have lost their central vision to eye disease, the inability to read is often one of the most devastating parts of the experience, taking away everything from books and labels to phone numbers and handwritten notes in an instant. But a tiny wireless chip smaller than a

Read More
Happy News

Every Major Las Vegas Casino Just Made History For Its Workers

March 9, 2026

For the first time in its 90-year history, the Culinary Workers Union has achieved something that once seemed completely out of reach: every major casino on the Las Vegas Strip is now fully unionized. The milestone was sealed when the Venetian, one of the last significant holdouts on the Strip

Read More
Happy News

This Town Is Being Powered By The Earth Itself

March 9, 2026

Deep beneath the rugged hills of Cornwall, England, rocks have been quietly cooking at nearly 200 degrees Celsius for millions of years, and now, for the very first time, the UK is finally putting all of that heat to work. After nearly two decades of planning, drilling, and determination, a

Read More
« Previous Next »
  • Privacy Notice
  • Accessibility Notice
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Unsubscribe
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Privacy Notice
  • Accessibility Notice
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Unsubscribe
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
Copyright © 2026 HappyNews.