I just read about the incredible efforts to bring a cat to the San Francisco Bay Area from Ukraine, so it could be reunited with a little girl who had to flee with her family. Imagine how this girl felt wondering what became of her furbaby.
The family left just about everything behind after the war started, but now they’re together in Sonoma County — working on a new start here in America.
There were tears and smiles, hugs and balloons at San Francisco International Airport when 10-year-old Agnessa was finally reunited with her beloved cat, Arsenii. The Bezhenar family, father Alexander, mother Maria, and daughters Eleanor, Angelina and Agnessa are adjusting to their new lives.
Arsenii has a new playmate, a kitten named Tosha. The family is staying in a large country home among vineyards and olive trees near Cloverdale in Sonoma County.
“When Arsenii is with us, it’s like home is with us. Like part of our home is with us,” Maria said.
All of this happened thanks to one man, Geoffrey Peters.
“When the invasion happened, I felt like we needed to do something to help people,” Peters said.
Peters’ efforts to go to Europe to evacuate war refugees didn’t pan out. But he did find an app for Ukrainians seeking help and connected with the Bezhenar family.