MIA'S STORY
One day, my family and I were driving through Ukraine. Stray dogs at gas stations are a common sight there, but at one of them we met a truly unique little soul. This small dog ran up to us, started dancing on her hind legs with a smile, and then literally jumped straight into my arms. I couldn’t let her go after that.
We asked the gas station workers about her, and they told us she had appeared there just a couple of weeks earlier. She was sitting on cold concrete, shivering from the cold, eating whatever she could find, and constantly having to defend herself from other dogs. No owners were found, and most likely she never had any. In the end, we simply couldn’t leave her there.
When we arrived, we bathed her, took her to a veterinarian, treated her for parasites and fleas, and established proper nutrition.
When the Right Photos Find the Right People
We named her Mia (Mimi), simply because out of all the names, that was the one she responded to. She was two years old — small, incredibly affectionate, and very smart. In just a few days, Mia learned how to walk on a leash, enter an apartment building, and climb stairs, even though on the first day she was terrified of them. She learned quickly and easily, and most importantly, she was fully house-trained and only went to the bathroom outside.
I really wanted to keep her, but unfortunately that wasn’t possible, so I urgently began looking for a home for her. It was very important to me to find someone who would love her as much as we did.
We took photos, published an adoption post, and by the evening of the very same day (!) wonderful people responded. Luckily, we had mutual acquaintances who confirmed their reliability. The family already had experience with dogs and turned out to be incredibly caring.
Since the new owners lived in another city, Mia was driven to them by car. Because of freezing temperatures and a snowstorm, the trip took twice as long, but everything went smoothly. When Mia was finally welcomed with warmth and care, it was an enormous relief.
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Now Mia has a loving and reliable family. It’s frightening to think that during that cold and snowy weather she could have remained on the street — and that, living there, she could have suffered due to the ongoing military conflict. But now her little tail is warm.
To this day, Mia’s new family sends photos of her. They have gotten her an international pet passport, completed all vaccinations, regularly take her to a groomer, and, in their words, “kiss her about 30 times a day.” She eats well, spends a lot of active time outdoors, and people often stop to ask what breed she is and to pet her. She even has a friend — a decorative rat named Pavel — and they are constantly having fun together.
