This is an archive article published on March 4, 2022

Opinion Refugees from Ukraine want to evacuate their pets to safety. Governments have done well to help them

There is something deeply humane about these stories of people who refuse to let any adversity — flood, fire, war — separate them from their cats, dogs, birds and fish.

The EU authorities have removed hurdles such as the mandatory pet passports and vaccine certificates for the refugees who wish to keep their companion animals.

By: Editorial

March 4, 2022 09:41 AM IST First published on: Mar 4, 2022 at 03:31 AM IST

There would be no journey home without Zaira: This much Arya Aldrin knew, even as she began to explore an escape route out of a besieged Ukraine. The medical student from Kerala walked nearly 20 kms in freezing winter weather to cross the border into Romania with her five-month-old dog. A photo of the young woman with her pet, waiting for a flight back to India, is one of the many images that tell a story of love, loyalty and warmth amidst the shock and horror of shelling and bombing — of people refusing to abandon their companion animals even as they flee the war zone.

In response, the EU authorities have removed hurdles such as the mandatory pet passports and vaccine certificates for the refugees who wish to keep their companion animals. The Indian government too, in a welcome move, has issued a memorandum giving a “one-time relaxation measure” for Indians stranded in Ukraine who wish to return with their cats and dogs. There’s a reason why stories of people walking across the border with their dogs or huddling in bomb shelters with their cats move us all — including the notoriously heartless bureaucracies. They remind us that love can give courage even to the most vulnerable. How else to explain why Aldrin and others like her, stuck in a dangerous, unpredictable situation in a foreign land, refused to board flights to safety if it meant leaving their pets behind? Or consider the story of the couple in Lviv who decided against evacuating to safety because it would mean shutting down their cat cafe, which is home to 20 felines.

There is something deeply humane about these stories of people who refuse to let any adversity — flood, fire, war — separate them from their cats, dogs, birds and fish. After all, in an increasingly lonely and scary world, animals offer us a measure of companionship and solace. That governments too have started to recognise it is a comforting thought.

This column first appeared in the print edition on March 4, 2022 under the title ‘Not without my dog’.