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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Alyce Collins & Nia Dalton

Puppy crosses eight borders with Ukrainian owners to escape war and get to safety

A Ukrainian couple spent eight days crossing eight borders to escape conflict - all with their French bulldog puppy, Barney.

Nine-month-old dog Barney made the long journey from Moscow to Madrid, where he now healthy, happy and safe.

Owners Hanna Kolesova, 27, and her boyfriend Nikita Nikitin, 29, who are both originally from Kakhvka, Ukraine, were living in Moscow, Russia, for work in February.

When Russia invaded their home country, the pair immediately decided they needed to get out - and they couldn't leave Barney behind.

Hanna said: "The dog was in our arms the whole time."

Barney was calm and quiet (Hanna Kolesova/ CATERS NEWS)
He slept on Nikita's lap (Hanna Kolesova/ CATERS NEWS)

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Their journey began to St. Petersburg by train, before moving onto Ivangorod, where they crossed the Estonian border on foot.

Barney sat on their laps for the 17-hour bus journey from Tallinn to Warsaw.

The trio slept on cramped train floors to Berlin and accepted kind food and drink donations from strangers on route to Paris.

Finally, they headed to Madrid, where they are now settled with relatives.

Hanna said: "When the war started we immediately decided that we were leaving. The borders rapidly began to close and we were worried that they might not let us out of the country.

It was a long eight days of travel (Hanna Kolesova/ CATERS NEWS)
He understood what was happening (Hanna Kolesova/ CATERS NEWS)

"In Warsaw we went to the train station and the Red Cross gave us two tickets for the Warsaw to Berlin train. It was the most difficult trip as there were a lot of people there.

"All our [train] tickets were free. Tickets were given only to the nearest countries that bordered the country in which we were, so we travelled on different trains from country to country.

"From Berlin went to Paris, we were there for a couple of days and spent the night on folding beds. Then we went from Paris to the Spanish border, and then had to transfer to another train to Madrid."

They were met with kindness along the way (Hanna Kolesova/ CATERS NEWS)

While the couple are now safe in Spain, they still have relatives back in Ukraine who they fear for every day.

Hanna said: "In Europe, everyone was polite. Everyone treated us with respect, and they wanted to help.

"Barney slept almost all the way. Considering he’s only nine months old, he was very calm and seemed to understand that he needed to be patient.

"Wherever I am, no matter how comfortable it is here, nothing pleases me. Every day we call our relatives who live in an occupied part of Ukraine and worry about them.

"I am glad we are out and we hope that we will be able to help them from here."

Do you have a dog story to tell? Contact nia.dalton@reachplc.com.

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