These Refugees Lost Everything. But They Refused To Leave Their Pets Behind.

<p> Marco Djurica for Reuters </p>
<p> Marco Djurica for Reuters </p>

As refugees travel dangerous passages toward new lives in unfamiliar countries, more stories are being made right now than can be told.

Surfacing amid the chaos are legends of people evacuating war zones with their families, which for many of them includes their beloved animals.

The images of these families set adrift capture still moments in what is otherwise constant motion and disorder.

These moving images of people who lost everything, but would not leave behind their pets, are reaching people all over the world.

Some stories can be told, beginning to end.

Other stories have uncertain endings ...

... or are left unfinished.

"Does anyone know what happened to this boy?" someone asked on Facebook, posting a photograph scraped from Instagram of a boy and his white kitten.

As the pictures and stories reach animal lovers all over the globe, people become concerned and want to help, but don't know how.

There's no perfect solution. But one way to help, the Facebook group Help for Refugees With Pets advises, is to "communicate with each other, network and post all of the information you are able to gather on the page."

Marco Djurica for Reuters

Every year, Europe sees a large migrant population moving toward borders, trying to find safety and security.

But because of increasing conflict in places like Syria, this year the influx was staggering.

Where last year an already record-breaking 219,000 migrants fled to Europe, this year has already seen more than double that: 522,124 migrants and refugees have crossed the Mediterranean Sea.

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