The dog's strength and how pets are assisting Ukrainians in coping with the war

Two of Jake's most valued things were stuffed in the back of his Nissan as he departed his homeland of Kharkiv, Ukraine: his Nintendo Switch and Puzo, his beloved pug.

Jake, 31, is one of thousands of displaced Ukrainians who have refused to leave their pets behind because of the enormous comfort and familiarity they've brought during Russia's extraordinary turmoil.

I would get up every day after the bombings stopped and go to the room where [Puzo] was hiding and stroke him. It was relaxing "Jake, who requested for his last name not to be used because he was afraid for his family's safety, told NPR over Google Meet. "He'd be snoozing the whole time, and it'd remind me of the good old days.

Jake, a network engineer, had his calm days broken on Feb. 24. Jake was up late viewing YouTube videos when he decided to watch the emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council.

Jake moved his focus to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had just gone on national television in his homeland to announce the start of a military assault against Ukraine.

I was simply sitting there utterly afraid for 5 or 10 minutes, Jake added. After that, I started hearing explosions and seeing windows break. Since then, it's been pure mayhem and terror.

Jake, Dasha, their pug, his mother, and a few personal belongings boarded a bus on March 3 with a caravan of 20 other family members in search of safety in Ivano-Frankivsk, a city some 680 miles away.

Puzo had previously become nauseated on short car journeys, but he was fine on this long trip west, "and always wants to be in my mother's hand," Jake added. Other families with dogs peeping out their car windows were a common sight on the road, he said.

Pets provide real health benefits.
Louisa Gouliamaki and other photographers have observed migrants traveling with their pets, including dogs, birds, and even a turtle, since arriving in Poland on March 5.

Many of these animals have appeared in photographs she has taken for AFP, demonstrating how pets are parts of their family who would never leave them behind, she added.

It's really reassuring [for kids] to have their dogs, Gouliamaki said. It's a piece of their normalcy, but it's also something they have to take care of, which gives them [a] kind of strength.

Lauren Powell, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Veterinary Medicine, believes that the good impact pets can have on individuals going through difficult times cannot be understated.

Powell told NPR via email that pets can provide companionship, assist lessen feelings of loneliness, and enhance feel-good hormones like oxytocin. According to her, pets can help us reduce our biological response to stress by reducing stress hormones and calming our heart rate and blood pressure.

Pets can be critically useful for their owners at stressful times, Powell added, citing previous horrific experiences. Because they are not judgmental, they have a unique ability to provide unconditional support and company.

The importance of pets throughout the conflict has been witnessed by NPR's Patrick Wood and Getty staff photographer Chris Furlong. On Wednesday, Wood spotted a woman bringing her small puppy through hundreds of people at a border crossing from Ukraine to Poland. On March 10, Furlong saw two young refugees walking a dog disguised in a coat across the Zahony border train station in Hungary.

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