A helper for checking connection on Laravel.

check_connection_helper_for_laravel.php

if (!function_exists('check_connection')) {
    /**
     * Check database connection.
     *
     * @param $connection
     * @return bool
     */
    function check_connection($connection)
    {
        try {
            app()->make('db')->connection($connection)->getPdo();
        } catch (\Exception $e) {
            return false;
        }
        return true;
    }
}

More helpers at https://github.com/acacha/helpers/blob/master/src/helpers.php