Deprived of her best friend, a cat named Diana, since leaving Ukraine for Switzerland, the young girl was surprised to find her thanks to her father and the Swiss Association.
The war in Ukraine brings its share of suffering to animals. Alicia, a red-haired cat, stayed in the village while her family was able to take refuge in Switzerland. The latter left in a hurry and was unable to pick her up, but she is safe again thanks to the efforts of her father and the association.
Diana, the daughter, was very sad because Alicia is her best friend. It was hard for him to endure her deprivation, which aggravated the grief associated with exile. Her father Igor had every intention of turning heaven and earth to bring back the cat and bring back the smile to his child. The thing promised, the thing due.
Igor made the long journey from Lvov, a city in western Ukraine, more than 400 kilometers from Kyiv and close to the Polish border. He completed all the formalities to allow him to cross several countries with felines, including obtaining a vaccination certificate. A journey thanks to a photographer who put his car at his disposal and a real chain of solidarity.
Arriving in Switzerland, Igor and Alicia were welcomed by the SOS Chats Noiraigue foundation based in Neuchâtel. They then proceeded to Les Diablerets in the canton of Vaud, where Diana was waiting for them for a reunion full of joy and emotion.
Tomi Tomek, founder of the SOS Chats Noiraigue foundation, recalls that a cat is a “full member of the family” and that in difficult times her presence and company are invaluable moral support.
“Knowing that her companion is not under bombs reassures a ten-year-old girl,” she adds.
