cross-posted from: https://rss.ponder.cat/post/218896
Ukrainian border guard Denys, who spent three years in Russian captivity, has been reunited with his service dog Dzhyli. All this time, the dog remained in the occupied territory.
Source: Radio Liberty; the charity organisation Humanity, whose volunteers help residents of Kherson Oblast evacuate from occupation
Details: Denys said that Dzhyli had served with him at the administrative border with Crimea.
“On 24 February [2022], we came under fire; the full-scale invasion began. While we were hiding from the attack, we were surrounded. Then we were taken captive, and they told us to leave Dzhyli,” Denys recalls.
Dzhyli did not want to be separated from its owner and tried to jump into the KAMAZ truck until the very last moment but was not allowed to do so. Denys says that at the time, he never thought he would ever see his dog again.
Dzhyli stayed in Kherson Oblast and was cared for by Denys’s parents. They eventually managed to leave the occupied territory but could not take the dog with them due to the lack of required documents.
“Three years in captivity, and for three years he kept thinking about his dog – whether she was alive, what condition she was in – the dog he served with until the moment of his capture,” Humanity said. “The military shepherd named Dzhyli remained in the temporarily occupied territory. She fell into Russian hands. And she survived.”
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In February this year, Denys was released from captivity, and volunteers arranged transport to return Dzhyli to Ukrainian-controlled territory.
“Her reaction wasn’t what I expected. But I considered that possibility too, because a lot of time has passed. I’ve changed – my scent, my appearance. But now I can already feel that she’s behaving just like she used to. As if nothing happened,” Denys says.
Denys is currently undergoing medical treatment and rehabilitation. He said that in the future, together with Dzhyli, he dreams of helping other soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder.
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