Man refused to leave country without his dog and makes it to safety after plea

Russian invasion in Ukraine has made the country a very perilous place for Ukrainians, and innumerable people have been escaping their homes. But, in spite of everything, people refuse to leave them behind.

Rishabh Kaushik is a third-year engineering student at the Kharkiv National University of Radio Electronics in east Ukraine. As Russia invaded, he tried to flee to India, but in order to rescue his puppy, named Malibu, he was asked documents that were impossible to get.

Nevertheless, he decided to stay on, no matter how dangerous it was. Because he was sure that nobody would take care of the dog, if he abandoned Malibu.

Rishabh and his dog ended up “stuck” in Ukraine. They were sheltered in a bunker in Kyiv. Malibu cried a lot, scared of the shelling.

Things seemed desperate. But he continued to put out calls, begging the Indian government to give him and his dog permission to fly out of the country.

His story reached the animal advocacy group PETA. The group appealed to the Indian government, asking them to let people to take their pets on flights.

There was a lot of documentation in India, the process was long. A memorandum had come recently which stated that pets and even strays are now being allowed without [a no objection certificate].”

Rishabh and Malibu were amongst the 219 Indian nationals who flew from Hungary to Delhi, in a special flight to evacuate them from Ukraine.