Lucie

Dear Lucie,

Today, the Noble Alliance Association honours you posthumously with the 2025 Frehel Fellow Award, recognising your exemplary dedication to those most vulnerable.

For many years, alongside Mary-Claude, you entered care homes, institutions, and specialised centres, offering something few can give with such steadfastness: a genuine presence.

Without uttering a word, you brought reassurance. Without making promises, you offered comfort. You read silences, eased tensions, and restored confidence. You were not a professional carer — yet you cared deeply. You were not human — yet profoundly human in all you conveyed.

Your way of “working” was never a duty. It was a gift. The moment your collar was put on, you understood your mission and carried it out calmly and seriously, without ever tiring.

To Mary-Claude, you have been a constant companion, a steady presence, and an indispensable support. She often speaks of you during training sessions, and those who listen quickly grasp the importance of your bond.

The Frehel Fellow Award honours animals whose commitment has helped to uplift the humanity of those they have encountered. You are fully among them. Through your quiet but profound presence, you have left a lasting mark on the hearts of many. Today, we pay tribute to you.

With respect, gratitude, and affection.

Noble Alliance

Some presences need no words to soothe, to comfort, to uplift. Lucie was one of them.

Alongside Mary-Claude, she moved with grace and kindness through the corridors of care and human fragility. She offered, unconditionally, what so many seek: a silent presence, a gaze free of judgement, a warmth that asked for nothing in return. Lucie was not a carer, yet she brought healing. Not human, yet deeply human in all that she conveyed.

Photo courtesy of Mary-Claude Pellaux

Mary-Claude tells their story in these words:

“Lucie, my darling Lucie, with whom I discovered the wonderful association Pattes Tendues back in 2005 — already twenty years ago. One day, I saw an advert in the paper: they were looking for volunteers to visit people in care homes or those living with disabilities. Lucie was on my lap, and I said to her, ‘What do you think? Shall we give it a try?’"

Your beautiful eyes said yes.I rang Mrs Francine Joseph-Murphy, who sent us a questionnaire. We passed the assessment, took the five-day training course (we’ve since added a sixth), and began our visits at the Charmilles care home in early 2006 — where we continued for almost ten years.We also visited Clair-Bois Chambésy for five years — you loved the children there — and for three years, Sylvia’s salon for people with cognitive impairments.Lucie, you loved those visits; the moment I put your collar on, you knew you were going to ‘work’.For you, Lucie, I carried on with Pattes Tendues. And with every new course, I still speak of you…”

Though she has now left this world, Lucie’s imprint remains. Through her quiet presence, her gentle manner, and her unique gaze, she reminded us all that the bond between animals and humans can be a true force for good.

Lucie showed that the soul we are born with — the one meant to shine — knows no age; she continued her visits well into old age. And love, she proved, knows no species boundaries.

It is for this reason that Noble Alliance is honoured to posthumously bestow upon her the Frehel Fellowship Award — a distinction that recognises animals whose devotion has elevated the humanity of those they encountered.

Lucie thus enters the living memory of those extraordinary companions — beings whose simple presence quietly restores what is most essential within us. To Lucie, for her luminous, silent legacy.