A Ukrainian refugee who fled war and is in remission from cancer is dreaming of an emotional victory at Crufts.
Evgenyia Samarska, 40, moved to London from the south coast city of Odessa with her two children in May 2022.
She fled on the same day Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops to invade Ukraine and start a war that has now entered its fifth year and reportedly killed up to 200,000 Ukrainians.
The dog trainer stayed in Moldova before travelling to the UK but was then diagnosed with stage three breast and ovarian cancer weeks after arriving.
Evgenyia only finished three years of treatment, which included surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, last week at Royal Marsden Hospital.
But, remarkably, she will show her two Schipperkes, Alien and Amina, at the world’s biggest dog festival next Saturday for the first time.
“My journey is very traumatic,” she said.
“When we moved here, I thought at least I am in the UK where Crufts is.
“But then I was diagnosed with cancer and was unable to do anything for three years. There were times when I could not eat, could not sleep and could not see my family.
“I had very heavy treatment but I was always motivated by dogs and inspired by Crufts. The staff at Royal Marsden even brought me a therapy dog while I was in hospital.
“I promised myself that if I survived, I would make it to Crufts and now I get to keep that promise.
“There were years where I was not myself but I will be there like nothing happened, no war or cancer.
“I feel like I did in the past, healthy and happy.”
Evgenyia, who lives in Fulham with son Kyrylo, 18, and 11-year-old daughter Zlata, was a dog trainer before war broke out.
She lived in a two-bed flat with her parents, children and sister’s family but was forced to leave her beloved dogs behind and only brought them to London last summer.
They will be two of 18,000 dogs being shown at the NEC in Birmingham and Evgenyia is eyeing victory in the Utility category.
“If you imagine your life as a vase of flowers, the war broke my vase,” she added.
“We have a new vase and a better one but it is never the one we had before.
“Our old life had a lot of memories and we can’t just replace it, I was happy in Ukraine and we did not want to leave.
“After I brought my dogs from Ukraine, I felt much better. It was happiness and relief and that felt like my real life.
“Without dogs, I feel lost. Crufts is the biggest dog show in the world and I can’t wait to stand there and show them.”
Crufts, run by the Royal Kennel Club, is a unique celebration of happy, healthy dogs and of the loving relationship that they enjoy with their owners. Crufts is held from 5-8 March 2026 at the NEC Birmingham. Viewers can follow all the action and highlights on Channel 4 and More4, and for further information and tickets visit crufts.org.uk.