A warm welcome
At the Korczowa border with Ukraine, I was met with the warmest of welcomes by a Ukrainian lady called Valentina. She spoke no English, but proudly introduced me to her stunning cat, Lucy. She had travelled for days to
flee Ukraine, and Lucy had remained calm, cosily inside a bag. I provided them with an aid bag of cat food, bowls, a collar and some special treats and soon became overwhelmed with emotion as Valentina proceeded to wrap me in her arms for the big
gest hug that I think I’ve ever received. We held on to each other in an embrace filled with nothing but gratitude and love. I don’t know where Valentina is now, and chances are that I will never see her again, but I can still feel the connection we had during those brief moments of time.
A lucky survivor
A Borodyanka shelter survivor. He survived without food and water for nearly five weeks yet still yearned for nothing but human affection. He was one of 
the lucky ones that made it over the Polish border to safety at a shelter, but many others haven’t. Refused safety in Poland due to an inflexibility of EU regulations with no consideration of their welfare. Turned away, ordered back into a warzone. This boy’s faith in me and offering of his paw to hold is the reason I subsequently wrote an open letter to the EU Commissioner for Health & Food Safety, Stella Kyriakides, asking for a controlled flexibility of the importation regulations for dogs just like him. In need of veterinary care, a stabilised diet and compassion.
A moment of normality for the people and pets of Ukraine
It’s not all warm welcomes and furry cuddles during my trips, as there’s work to be done. This was an animal aid station inside the refugee camp in Korczowa. Sadly, it had been left for a couple of weeks without maintenance and restock so was looking pretty poor when we arrived. We restocked it with mountains of aid bought in Poland, from food for cats, dogs, small furries and birds to collars and cat litter.
We wanted to give these brave people a shopping experience, rather than an aid point, so we created a small shop for them to browse, with collars and leads on hangers, food in species and size order and bedding neatly folded. After all, why shouldn’t they have a brief moment of normality like the rest of us?
