The humanitarian crisis in Ukraine has forced people to flee the country. Not only has it wreaked havoc among international and national students and residents, but pet owners are also finding it extremely difficult too. Many of them refused to leave the country without their pet while others had to make the difficult choice of leaving them behind. This Malayali medical student too refused to go back to her home country without her dog.
20-year-old MBBS student from Vandiperiyar in Idukki, Arya Aldrin, was adamant that she wouldn’t leave the war-stricken Ukraine without her Siberian Husky. Her six-month-old pet dog, Zaira, was with her throughout her journey of escape. The picture of Arya travelling with Zaira in an evacuation bus is making rounds on the internet. Netizens are proud of her resilience.
Even before the war was declared, Arya made sure to get a dog’s passport in case they would have to fly out during emergencies. When the way was declared, Arya and Zaira were shifted to a bunker. Despite the risky conditions outside, Arya ensured that she completed the necessary documentation process so that Zaira could travel with her back home. She risked her life for her dog.
Soon, Arya had to travel to Romania by bus and walk 12km to the border. Upon reaching, Romanian soldiers didn’t allow her to take the dog with her. But she was adamant that they allow it. Finally, they allowed her to take Zaira with her. During her entire journey, she was questioned and even laughed at for carrying Zaira with her. In fact, she was forced to dump her cloth bags so that she could carry Zaira. She didn’t want her dog to get blisters.
Upon reaching India after taking a flight from Bucharest in Romania, she was in for a rude awakening. Two private airlines refused her a ticket because they didn’t have the facilities to carry a pet. The Kerala government intervened and ensured that they would be travelling to Kochi on Friday. They even arranged accommodation for Arya and Zaira in Kerala House.
Kerala Education Minister V Sivankutty took to Facebook to share his feeling of deep content. In a Facebook post, he shared, “It is born out of love and I am sure the world will benefit from such love.”
Arya will soon be staying in Munnar at her relatives’ place to get Zaira acclimatised to the weather.
I’m glad for them