War tends to bring out the worst in people, but as the Russian attack on Ukraine wages on, we continue to see the ways tragedy can also bring out the best in people. This story about a Ukrainian woman and her older dog is one such example.
On February 23, Alisa lost her father, and on the following day, Russia’s war against Ukraine commenced. While many people fled Kyiv, Alisa and her family rushed around the city to make funerary preparations.
“We collected almost all the documents, ordered a restaurant for a commemoration,” said Alisa, “but since the registry office was evacuated, and didn’t give us one final document, the crematorium refused to accept anyone.”
But Alisa’s difficulties were only just beginning. Because of the “mobilization order,” which barred adult males from leaving Ukraine, Alisa’s husband could not leave the country with her and the rest of her family, which included her two large dogs.
But as she and her family got closer to Poland, the conditions on the road became worse. Alisa knew she and her family could not stay in the car for the “next three – or five – days.” They would have to walk the last 10 miles to the border.
Alisa and her family, including her two dogs, walked through freezing temperatures as low as minus seven degrees below zero. But their elderly German Shepherd, who was 12-and-a-half years old, started to struggle. But Alisa was not going to lose another member of her family.
She hoisted her senior dog onto her shoulders and carried the German Shepherd 10 miles through the cold until she arrived safely in Poland. “Our dogs are part of our family,” said Alisa. “My dog has experienced all the happy and sad moments with us.”
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