Dog Therapy Becomes Entertainment For Children Traumatized By Russia's War With Ukraine

Ukrainian child refugees in Poland. (Wikimedia Commons/梁柏堅 Pakkin Leung)

JAKARTA - A 'therapy dog' provides some much-needed comfort and entertainment to traumatized Ukrainian children displaced by the war raging in their country.

At the therapy center 'Dr. Doc' in the city of Zaporizhzhia, southern Ukraine, children are invited to pet Evsei, a friendly spaniel, wiggle his paw and play with him, while volunteers sing and dance to cheer them all up.

"This is important for them because children's souls are very vulnerable to the war that is going on right now. Some children are very scared. We brought them out of this situation," said volunteer Olga Pivtoratska, 22, as quoted by Reuters on April 14.

"We are helping them adapt to the reality of Zaporizhzhia, which is calm. There is no explosion here," he added.

Nearby are piles of clothing and other humanitarian aid for the refugees, many of them coming from the more eastern regions of Ukraine, where most of the fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces is currently ongoing.

Meanwhile, Alyona Serdyuk, head of the center and child psychologist, said the volunteers took care of the children while their parents were registered before moving to a new, more permanent home.

"Our main task is to stabilize children, help them cope with very stressful situations. Here children can play, sing, draw, play with our dogs. If they need psychological help, we also work individually," said Serdyuk. to Reuters.

Separately, a refugee, Daniil Savchenko, 20, holds his pug Milo as he recounts his escape from Russian-occupied Berdiansk with his mother.

"(Milo) must have been scared, because the small movement to the vet, which took about 10 minutes in our hometown, was a huge pressure for him," he said.

"I would really have gone (joined) the army if it weren't for my mother because I don't want her to live without me," he said, crying, kissing and caressing Milo.