Dylan the therapy dog brings comfort to oncology patients at Metaxa Hospital

Metaxa Cancer Hospital connected Tuesday introduced Dylan, the archetypal therapy canine to go a imperishable beingness successful a nationalist infirmary under Greece’s National Health System, successful what officials described arsenic a milestone for diligent care.

Dylan’s debut was timed to coincide with World Nurses Day, paying tribute to healthcare workers and their regular committedness to diligent support.

Hospital officials said Dylan is the archetypal officially integrated therapy canine within the nationalist system and will beryllium handled by infirmary head Sarantos Efstathopoulos, marking a structured effort to incorporated animal-assisted therapy into objective practice.

In his relation astatine Metaxa Hospital successful Piraeus, Dylan will visit oncology patients successful the Day Care Unit, offering affectional support, comfortableness and alleviation done enactment with patients undergoing treatment. Officials described his beingness arsenic a calming power intended to easiness intelligence stress.

The inaugural is portion of the “Companions with Tails” program, launched successful 2025 by Efstathopoulos successful practice with Dog Therapy and supported by Win Cancer. The programme completed its archetypal year of cognition successful April and has been positively received by patients, families and staff, according to infirmary officials.

Dylan joins different therapy dog, Vangelis, who makes weekly visits. During an archetypal phase, Dylan will visit the infirmary twice a week connected alternating schedules.

The programme operates astatine nary outgo to ESY, which officials accidental highlights the relation of volunteer-based initiatives successful improving patient-centered care.

“Our caller workfellow Dylan becomes portion of a ample team who, connected a regular basis, supply care, alleviation and anticipation to our oncology patients,” Efstathopoulos said.