A grandmother living in Ireland after escaping the war in Ukraine has been reunited today with her beloved black labrador-cross, Tasha.
Violeta, 86, a native of Odesa, tried to bring her 13-year-old pet with her when she fled the country.
But they were forced apart in Romania because the elderly refugee was unable to physically carry Tasha any further.
A local family kindly agreed to care for the dog while Tasha and her family continued their journey and ended up finding refuge in Co Clare.
Charity worker Debbie Deegan, who had helped Violeta's family get to Ireland, put a plan in place to rescue Tasha when she saw how upset Violeta was at being apart from her.
"She was not coping well without Tasha. We contacted the family in Romania and then organised for a company to transport the labrador across eight borders," she said.
Waterford man John D'Arcy travelled to Britain yesterday with dog handler Sar'anne Walsh to bring Tasha on the last leg of the rescue mission back to Ireland.
"It's been a very long journey for her - she has been on the road for two weeks - but what a wonderful happy ending to see Tasha reunited with Violeta today," Ms Deegan said.
