Meet Aslan and his dog, Rose.
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The 17-year-old, who gave his name as Aslan, told the United Nations Refugee Agency he left Damascus with his small Husky, Rose, virtually his only possession. “I need him… they said, “you can’t take your dog”, but I have food, I have water, I have everything”.
UNHCR shared the video on Facebook this past Saturday where it has since gone viral with more than 2.6 million views and has inspired incredible reactions from the social media users.
While talking to some photographers in the previous week, Al-Hakim boasted about Rose and said: “I love this dog”.
Aslan brought his dog passport with him on the trip and just a few belongings as he heads from country to country in the hope for a better life.
A spokesperson for the UNHCR said it had seen “many” refugees like Aslan carrying their animals with them on risky journeys from the Middle East, across the Mediterranean and onwards through Europe. When forced to flee home because of war, many people would never dream of leaving their pets behind.
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The two kept each other company through an arduous 300-mile journey from Syria to the Greek island of Lesbos.
