A heartbroken grandmother who fled her home in Ukraine has had an emotional reunion with her beloved pet dog.
Violetta, 86, escaped Odessa with her family when Russia invaded six weeks ago, reported Irish Mirror.
She was determined to take her 12-year-old black Labrador, Tasha, with her - but her efforts to carry the dog came to a tearful end, and they were forced to separate.
Tasha - who is also 86 in humans years - was taken in by strangers in Romania, who promised to reunite them when it was safe.
Yesterday, the pair finally met again, thanks to the help of kind strangers who have worked together to transport the dog 1,800 miles.
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Violetta's family travelled from Ukraine to Ireland in the search of safety, and were welcomed with open arms by the locals in Co Clare.
Despite arriving all in one piece, the 86-year-old couldn't stop talking about her "best friend" Tasha.
Dublin charity worker, Debbie Deegan, who helped the family to get to Ireland, made it her mission to reunite the heartbroken pair.
She said: "The family had come through Ukraine and they had come through Moldova.
"Violetta was quite stressed about the whole thing and by the time they got to Romania they weren’t able to manage the dog so they gave it to a Romanian family.
"It devastated her. She was broken-hearted. She told me Tasha was her best friend."
Debbie had been put in touch with Violetta's family by a Russian friend living in America, after they'd struggle to cross the Romanian border.
Debbie was able to help due to her connections from her work as the founder of the To Children With Love charity.
The family, which included Violetta and her son and daughter-in-law, travelled through Ukraine, Moldova, Romania and Austria before eventually arriving in Ireland in early March.
Debbie said: "They got into Dublin airport and I went to meet them, and they basically had the clothes on their back.
"Violetta was upset because she had left her dog behind - it was all she could talk about."
With the help of Violetta's Ukrainian granddaughter, who flew in from America, Debbie made connections with the Romanian foster family.
"We contacted a travel company for help and it was a worry because we had to get her through four or five borders unaccompanied," Debbie said.
"But in fact they were very, very good. They were professional dog handlers. So we had to make sure Tasha’s passport was in date, all her rabies shots and her chip were in order."
They could only get her as far as the UK, so it took one last huge effort to transport her to Dublin.
Debbie put out a message on a Ukrainian help site and was contacted by Lisa Kay, who offered to take care of Tasha temporarily on her farm near Birmingham.
Then Debbie's friend, John D’Arcy, from Waterford, offered to go to England to collect Tasha.
John had a soft spot for the black Lab, because she resembled his own dog Gertie.
On Saturday, John travelled with a companion by ferry to England to collect Tasha.
The cost of his trip was kindly covered by his friends in Co Waterford.
And yesterday, Debbie shared the news on Twitter that Violetta had been reunited with Tasha at last - and the pair couldn't look happier about it.
Do you have a dog story to tell? Contact nia.dalton@reachplc.com.
