Stella & Stuart’s Big Adventure; pt 1
On 18 January, 2022, I left Kyiv to head to Washington, DC to get my work visa for China.
I had a return ticket to Kyiv for 18 February …
There was some paperwork change for Stella’s titer test paperwork that my cat sitter was going to assist me with while I was in DC.
Due to China’s one pet per passport policy, I had to find another person who had traveled to China from Ukraine in the past 6 months.
Thankfully, I had found a woman who had moved to China in October from Ukraine and she was willing to help me and my cats. My cat sitter was helping to change the titer test information over to her name while I was away.
In the beginning of February, the conflict in Ukraine was getting uneasy and many consulates and people were leaving Kyiv and leaving Ukraine. With the health code process for China, my chances for flying from Ukraine to China were looking slim. Before the invasion, it was decided that I would fly from the US to China.
What about Stella and Stuart?
Thankfully, my cat sitter was dedicated to being with them longer than expected. She was even helping to pack my belongings for the hopeful shipment in the future. When the invasion started, the situation in Kyiv was staying pretty calm. My cat sitter was keeping a pretty normal life and was able to shop and go outside. This was before the air raids. This was before the shelling in Kyiv started.
I was in the US and not able to fly back to get Stella and Stuart. They were currently safe, but I knew I needed to find a way to get them to a neighboring country. Thank goodness for Facebook.
My mom pushed me to post on Facebook. There were new rescue animal groups and I was checking them multiple times a day and messaging people who were suggested to help with rescues. I was finding wonderful people who were rescuing pets along with their owners. My situation was different in that it would just be my cats since my cat sitter was not wanting to leave Kyiv.
The people would have to reject my offer since 2 cats with no keeper was not safe for these journeys. I posted in one of the rescue groups, a plea for my cause. I had a lot of replies but nothing solid. I posted in another group and the same result.
Finally, I posted again and included a photo of Stella and Stuart cuddled together. This worked. A woman messaged me with advice on how to avoid scammers and later messaged me about a man who had rescued people and animals a couple of times from Kyiv to Poland. I had hope. This woman would become a huge part of the rescue operation and a future friend.
By this time, the invasion had worsened in Kyiv and air raids were going off and shellings were on the outside of the city.
My cat sitter was getting nervous and when I was getting the rescue organized for just Stella and Stuart, she finally agreed to go to Western Ukraine with the rescue group.
There are many unfathomable parts to this story before Stella and Stuart finally got to China -and many serendipities that I can only look to the sky and give thanks for.
Be sure and read parts 2 and 3!
