Proposed Polish Legislation to Facilitate Pet Visits in Hospice and Palliative Care

When Ewa Lutka-Krawczyk received a grim prognosis for gallbladder cancer, her concern naturally turned to Gaja, a shelter dog she had adopted three years earlier. She urged her physician to confirm she would live long enough for Gaja “not to be left behind.”

However, the prognosis was dire, and this month the 70-year-old was admitted to a Warsaw palliative care ward. Isolated at home with her husband, Gaja’s appetite dwindled.

“She is waiting for me,” Lutka-Krawczyk stated from her bed, connected to an abdominal drainage tube.

A proposed law in Poland aims to grant patients like Lutka-Krawczyk the right to receive visits from their pets in hospices and palliative care facilities. While some clinics currently allow pet visits, there is no legal mandate nationwide.

An ‘Epidemic of Loneliness’ Driving Change

Tomasz Dzierżanowski, MD, PhD, head of the Palliative Medicine Clinic at the Medical University of Warsaw, has spearheaded this proposal, introduced by a legislator from Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s centrist party.

Dzierżanowski argues that the presence of a cherished pet can alleviate both physical and emotional suffering among terminally ill patients, a critical need amid what he describes as “an epidemic of loneliness.”

“We must ensure no patient dies in solitude,” Dzierżanowski stated in an interview with the Associated Press.

“Ideally, a person in distress should have human companionship,” he noted. “But when that isn’t possible, a pet can fill that void.”

Dzierżanowski frequently observes elderly patients isolated by outliving their friends, as well as younger individuals feeling disconnected in palliative care due to modern reliance on digital interactions over in-person relationships.

The impetus for his advocacy came from a terminally ill cancer patient named Waldemar, who feared for his two cats as much as himself. Dzierżanowski arranged for the cats to be brought to the ward, and their joyful reunion with Waldemar—along with the emotional responses of other patients and staff—convinced him this issue required legislative action.

Dzierżanowski permits pet visits in his clinic when feasible, meaning Lutka-Krawczyk can expect Gaja’s company. This news brought her relief.

“In reality, animals are already present in hospitals,” Katarzyna Piekarska, the lawmaker proposing the bill, explained. “Regulation through law is necessary to formalize this right.”

Therapy Dogs Expand Comfort

Dzierżanowski also supports visits from therapy dogs. During a visit, small Australian shepherd Kluska, accompanied by her owner Małgorzata Brzozowska, brought moments of joy to patients.

When we visited, Lutka-Krawczyk cradled Kluska’s paw and smiled. Another patient, 58-year-old Wojciech Zelik, who had a tumor, stood to admire the dog as Brzozowska elicited tricks from Kluska.

“Her fur is so soft and fluffy,” Zelik remarked, gently stroking her head.

Brzozowska, a medical student, emphasized that therapy dogs not only comfort patients but also reduce stress for staff. Nurses, cooks, and others were seen crouching to pet Kluska, with the cook even offering her slices of ham.

Brzozowska noted that visits from a patient’s own pet often have deeper emotional resonance. “The dog isn’t stressed,” she said. “It seems to intuitively understand the owner’s absence and return.”

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