How a Facebook page for Irish setter lovers helped Ukrainians flee with their dogs

https://www.npr.org/2022/05/29/ [login to see] /irish-setter-pet-dogs-ukraine-refugees-france
It all started with a distressing photo of a man and his dog, trying to board a train out of Ukraine in the early days of the Russian invasion.

The picture was posted on a Facebook group for Irish setter lovers of the world.

"And there was really a crowd everywhere, so he was desperately trying to put himself in [the train] and he was holding this big Irish setter," says Macha Levitin, a Moscow native who has lived for the past 13 years in this small medieval village in France's Burgundy region.

Since Russia launched its war with Ukraine in February, millions of Ukrainians have had to flee the country. Many bring their pets — on leashes, in cages or held in their arms. The world has taken notice, and some have gone out of their way to help.

"I was just amazed by this attitude. It was just absolutely out of the question for them to leave their cats and dogs back in Ukraine," says Levitin, 45, who lives with her husband, two daughters and an Irish setter named Safra.