A cancer patient鈥檚 cats inspired a push for pets in hospice wards

WARSAW, Poland (AP) 鈥� When Ewa Lutka-Krawczyk was diagnosed with gallbladder cancer, her first thought was for Gaja, a shelter dog she took in three years ago. She asked her doctor to assure her she would live a few more years so the deeply attached Gaja 鈥渨ouldn’t be left behind.鈥�

But the prognosis was grim, and this month the 70-year-old was admitted to the palliative ward of a Warsaw hospital. Left at home with Lutka-Krawczyk’s husband, Gaja was barely eating.

鈥淪he is waiting for me,鈥� Lutka-Krawczyk said from her bed, where she rested with a draining tube attached to her abdomen.

Under proposed new legislation in Poland, patients like Lutka-Krawczyk soon would have the right to be visited in hospices and palliative care wards by their pets. Visits are already allowed in many clinics, but there is no universal right under the law.

One expert reports an 鈥榚pidemic of loneliness鈥�

Dr. Tomasz Dzier偶anowski, director of the Palliative Medicine Clinic at the Medical University of Warsaw, where Lutka-Krawczyk is being treated, has led the proposal, which was introduced to parliament by a member of Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s centrist party.

Dzier偶anowski said the presence of a beloved pet can ease the physical and spiritual pain of terminally ill patients at a time when society is experiencing 鈥渁n epidemic of loneliness.鈥�

鈥淲e make sure that no patient dies alone,鈥� Dzier偶anowski said in an interview with The Associated Press.

鈥淲hen someone is suffering, it is important that someone is there for them. Ideally, that should be another human being,鈥� he said. 鈥淪ometimes, however, there is no one.”

Dzier偶anowski said he often sees older patients isolated because they have outlived their friends, as well as young patients feeling alone in palliative care clinics because in today’s world of screens and virtual friends, they have not built the kind of friendships that earlier generations often had.

Dzier偶anowski said the catalyst for his mission was a seriously ill cancer patient named Waldemar who was not afraid for himself but for his two cats. Dzier偶anowski arranged for the cats to be brought into the ward.

The man’s tears of happiness and the cats’ emotional reaction 鈥� as well as that of other patients and hospital staff who witnessed the reunion 鈥� 鈥渕ade me realize that this issue finally needed to be addressed,” he said.

Dzier偶anowski allows pets to visit patients in his clinic when conditions allow, which means that Lukta-Krawczyk can look forward to a visit from Gaja. That pleased her when she learned of it.

鈥淚n reality, animals in hospitals are already there anyway,鈥� said Katarzyna Piekarska, the lawmaker who introduced the legislation, which is now in parliament’s health committee. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why it needs to be regulated in the law.鈥�

Therapy dogs are also allowed

Dzier偶anowski also allows visits by therapy dogs. When the AP visited, Kluska, an Australian shepherd, was making the rounds with her owner, Ma艂gorzata Brzozowska.

Kluska 鈥� whose name means 鈥渄umpling鈥� 鈥� brought some distraction to Lutka-Krawczyk, who held the dog’s paw and smiled.

Another patient, Wojciech Zelik, a 58-year-old admitted with a tumor, propped himself up to admire the dog as Brzozowska got Kluska to perform tricks.

鈥淪he has such lovely fur to pet, so fluffy,鈥� he said, reaching over and rubbing her head.

Brzozowska said therapy dog visits also help relieve the stress of nurses, cooks and other staff who tend to the terminally ill patients. Several made a fuss over Kluska, crouching down to pet her in the hallway 鈥� with the cook giving her slices of ham.

Brzozowska, a medical student, said the benefits are even greater when the patients are visited by their own pets. It calms them, their loved ones 鈥� and the animals, too.

鈥淭he dog isn鈥檛 as stressed,鈥� she said. “We interpret this as meaning that he simply knows what鈥檚 happening, that he knows where the owner, who was always there before, has disappeared to.鈥�