Charlie, a stray dog in Ukraine, is about to travel to a new life in York after bonding with Edward Matthews, a photographer and aid worker based in the city.
Edward told YorkMix Radio: “He was rescued back in November last year. When I first met Charlie, we just got along really well.
“I thought he was really cute, and definitely made a lot of people smile.
“He was actually found by a guy from York, who’s been over there for a little while as well. And I made the decision to adopt him, and finally got all the paperwork sorted to bring him over.
“So at the end of June, Charlie will be a new resident of York and we’ll have a little Ukrainian soldier with us.
Edward said he was found when he was about two weeks old and they are not sure what breed he is.
“He’s got really big ears and looks a bit like a gremlin. But that part of his character makes a lot of people smile. So that’s the important thing.”
He added: “When he was first found, he was pretty much skin and bones, there wasn’t really much to him. So he was taken to a frontline trauma vet for injured animals.
“He was nursed back to health and then put on medicated food to get him back to a good state of health and he’s doing really well now.
“So he will be the first family dog. I’m very excited. I’ve spent lots of time with him on my last trip.
“Hopefully, he will have a much better life away from rockets and explosions.
“I left a couple of T-Shirts with him last time, so at least he’s got something that smells like me. I’ve got one of his leashes with me at home. It says Be brave like Ukraine, which is quite sweet.”
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