Nemo the Ukrainian Tortoise

Some of you may have heard the story of Nemo the tortoise..….…

In early March 2022, Nataliia and her two boys Illia (13) and Roman (10) were forced to flee Kyiv, Ukraine under threat of Russian shelling and imminent invasion. There was no question that they would take their beloved pet tortoise with them. It was winter in Ukraine, so Illia carried Nemo in his coat to keep him warm. They travelled by train to the Polish border, like many other Ukrainian families, not knowing where they were going, who might support them and where they would end up. They spent the night on the floor in a Polish train station - Nemo with them providing some comfort to the boys.

After finding a local Polish family to temporarily shelter them, they got in touch with our family and we began to make arrangements for their journey to the UK under the homes for Ukraine scheme.

There was no question that Nemo should travel with them and settle here with us and Nataliia began to make preparations for his journey. She visited a local vet to get a health check, got him chipped and acquired him a pet passport. In England I applied for and received an import license. Natalia‘s husband in Ukraine booked airline tickets for his wife and sons with an airline that carried pets.

Unfortunately on arrival at the airport on the morning of the flight, Nemo was refused boarding. Natallia had to make the impossible decision about whether to continue their journey or stay in a foreign land to ensure Nemo had somewhere to stay. They were alone, the boys were distraught. Having little other choice Nataliia decided not to board the flight and instead to stay to try and find a family locally who may be able to foster Nemo until she could find a solution. The airline LOT have not refunded them the cost of this flight, leaving them nearly £500 (the equivalent of more than a teachers monthly salary in Ukraine) out of pocket.

Natalia was able to find a temporary home for Nemo and she and the boys travelled to us in Bristol the next day.

I can truly say the boys have missed Nemo every single day and not having him here to help them settle into a new country after what they have been through has been devastating for them.

However this story has a happy ending! Thanks to the wonderful people at Animal Couriers Ltd, Nemo is set to arrive in the UK imminently.

Although Animal Couriers Ltd are kindly footing the bill for his transportation, there will be some admin costs associated with his journey. There will also be initial setup costs for the family as they will need to buy the things they need to keep Nemo safe and well. He has a great set up in Kyiv but unfortunately that remains in Ukraine. Then of course there is the money they lost on flights, that is not being refunded. Hence this page.

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