A NORTH East man who fled Kyiv with his family says his poorly Ukrainian wife is in distress because her beloved Pomeranian is still in UK quarantine after seven weeks – and has blasted UK officials about the delay.

Mike Haley, 61, is considering returning to the war-ravaged country with wife Alla, 51, and her mother Valentyna, 81, so their pet Archie will be deported with them.

That is despite him witnessing Russian infiltrators murder his friend and him having teeth knocked out in the days before they fled the Ukrainian capital.

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The family have been housed in Newcastle with help from a charity, while dog Archie has been held 240 miles away in Aberdeen since early April.

Mr Haley, who was born in Jarrow, South Tyneside, married Alla 17 years ago and worked as an English teacher and translator before the war.

They sheltered in the corridor of their apartment for eight days after war broke out – during which time Mr Haley’s friend was shot and he was kicked down a flight of stairs – before they got a train out of Kyiv.

The Northern Echo: Mike Haley and his wife wife Alla, with their pet Pomeranian, Archie, which has been kept quarantined in the UK for seven weeks after he fled Kyiv with his family and the dog. Picture: PA MEDIA.Mike Haley and his wife wife Alla, with their pet Pomeranian, Archie, which has been kept quarantined in the UK for seven weeks after he fled Kyiv with his family and the dog. Picture: PA MEDIA.

They then travelled to Poland and Amsterdam before sailing to North Shields, with Archie, who gave them something else to focus on and kept up their spirits.

Archie has been microchipped and vaccinated but a technical problem with his rabies inoculation, which happened before he was chipped, means the dog has been held by the Animal and Plant Health Agency since they arrived.

The Haleys are worried about the risk to his health after having two doses close together because he is a small dog, and say he should have been blood tested, which has not happened.

The Northern Echo: Mike Haley with his wife Alla and her mother Valentyna. They fled Kiev and he is considering returning from Newscastle to the war-ravaged country with his wife and her mother so their pet Archie will be deported with them. Picture: PA MEDIA.Mike Haley with his wife Alla and her mother Valentyna. They fled Kiev and he is considering returning from Newscastle to the war-ravaged country with his wife and her mother so their pet Archie will be deported with them. Picture: PA MEDIA.

The red tape over their fully vaccinated dog, who would normally help Mrs Haley cope with panic attacks and other mental health issues, is just one of the many problems they have faced since coming to the UK.

Mr Haley said: “We came 2,000 miles with him. He was given a clean bill of health in Holland and checked over. We’d made sure he’d had all his vaccinations.

“This little dog gave positive emotions to everybody.

“And then he was just taken away when we arrived.

“This is torment.

The Northern Echo: Archie, a Pomeranian which has been kept quarantined in the UK for seven weeks. Picture: PA MEDIA.Archie, a Pomeranian which has been kept quarantined in the UK for seven weeks. Picture: PA MEDIA.

“This is like torture for my wife.

“She’s going through this whole process without really understanding why.

“Why it’s taking so long?

Mr Haley has also struggled to get council help with finding accommodation after being told he has family in the UK – despite his mother living in a care home and not being well enough to recognise him.

Red tape is holding up his attempts to open a bank account or renew his driving licence so he can find work, he said.

The Northern Echo: Mike Haley who fled Kiev and is considering returning from Newscastle to the war-ravaged country. Picture: PA MEDIA.Mike Haley who fled Kiev and is considering returning from Newscastle to the war-ravaged country. Picture: PA MEDIA.

“I kind of thought something would be organised to help people when they first came but there was nothing,” he added.

“In Poland and Holland, they mobilised people to help organise, to help with bureaucracy but here there’s just nothing.

“It’s like a dystopian nightmare and I speak English. It must be so much harder if you don’t speak the language.”

In response to the ‘nightmare’ situation greeting the Haley family, Tamsin Baxter, executive director of fundraising and external affairs at the Refugee Council, said: “The idea that someone flees bloodshed and persecution in Ukraine (and) gets to the UK and finds the support here falling short of what they need so they are considering returning to Ukraine is far from good enough.

The Northern Echo: Mike Haley with his wife Alla. Picture: PA MEDIA.Mike Haley with his wife Alla. Picture: PA MEDIA.

“Those, like Mike and his family, who are fleeing Ukraine are people who have endured unimaginable trauma.

“It’s vital they are given all the support they need to settle in our country.

A Defra spokesman said they could not discuss individual cases but said: “We have increased resources and streamlined processes to ensure those fleeing Ukraine and entering the UK are not delayed by bringing their pets.

“We have introduced a new rapid rabies blood test to cut quarantine times and lower risk animals are being moved into isolation.”

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