For officials of the Tamil Nadu House in Delhi, the challenge was not just in accommodating students arriving from Ukraine in different flights and trains to Chennai, but also in handling the pets that many of them brought along.

At least half-a-dozen students arrived in Delhi with dogs of different breeds. While one brought a rabbit, a few others had cats. Though the international airlines in which they arrived allowed them to bring the pets, domestic flights departing from Delhi airport refused to take them on board. Officials of the airlines insisted on following the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), including producing a veterinary doctor’s certificate on fitness of the animal to travel for accommodating them.

Since students had to be sent home as early as possible, officials acting on the instructions of Chief Resident Commissioner Atulya Misra, made arrangements to send the students with their pets in trains. “Time was short to arrange the standard procedures to fly the pets with their owners. We arranged First AC coupe in trains to facilitate the students taking their dogs with them,” a senior official of the Tamil Nadu government told Rashtra News on Sunday.

Two girls who arrived on Saturday refused to leave, saying that they had left behind their cats in Ukraine. They requested the officials to arrange their travel on Monday since some of their friends had assured to bring the cats to India. Many more students arriving in the next few days were also expected to bring pets.

“We have accommodated the girls in Tamil Nadu House. One student brought a rabbit. Some medicos said they had left behind valuables like electronic gadgets and home appliances but could not leave behind their pets in the war zone,” the official who preferred not to be quoted said, adding that the pets were visibly healthy on arrival and required no medical intervention.