A Ukrainian soldier posted pics of a lost dog to Facebook last week, trying to reunite the pup with his people. And it looks like it worked!
Newsweek reports that Andriy Smirnov posted the photos while in Bucha, a suburb of Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv. The town has sustained major damage from Russian attacks, and Smirnov shared that he found the dog — a small tan-and-white husky — roaming the desolate streets.
“Bucha, such a little one running around the house,” he wrote. “There are no owners, we will look for them.”
The post was shared more than 7,000 times. Not long after, a woman named Marina commented on it, saying that this was her dog and that her children had been crying for him.
“When the shelling began, our beloved pet dog Yukki got spooked and ran away,” Marina told Newsweek. “We looked for him, but to no avail.”
Then Marina and her three children made the tough decision to leave Bucha without Yukki. She said the dog eventually returned home, but the family’s house was hit by a rocket. A neighbor who stayed in town eventually found Yukki and cared for him, but the dog bolted again in another round of shelling.
Bucha lost running water, electricity, gas and internet in early March. It’s also a site of alleged war crimes against civilians.
“Then a miracle happened,” Marina said. “He was found by a soldier named Andriy Smirnov. He is with him now and is taken care of. We are waiting for a call from Andriy who will let us know when it is safe to come back and return Yukki to our family.”
A post on a personal page notes that, as of two days ago, a member of the family was expecting to make an appointment with the soldier so they could prove ownership and pick up the pup.
In the meantime, Yukki seems pretty comfortable with Smirnov — the soldier posted some additional pics of the pup snuggling up with him. He noted in the post that the saga isn’t quite finished, as he wants to make sure the dog goes to the right owners.
This is just a little bit of good news in a sad time — and not the only feel-good story involving a dog in Ukraine. Nessie, another husky from Bucha, was also separated from her owner, found by military volunteers from Belarus, and posted about on social media. The two were eventually reunited.
We love to see it!
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