Il CORGI Dog Festival dell’Ucraina è adatto per una regina

Everywhere you look, there they are: jumping gleefully into the river; competing on a miniature agility course; sporting little sunhats with holes for their ears and generally spreading their furry brand of joy amid a gathering of Kyivans exhausted by the relentless night-time bombardment by missiles and drones.

This is the third “Corgy” — or “orgy of corgis” — organised by Kateryna Shershnova, a breeder and pioneer of canine therapy. She was inspired by the comfort that her corgi puppies brought her son when the Russian invasion began. Air raids triggered compulsive behaviour in the young boy, including biting his fingers until they bled.

“They are a key that opens hearts,” Shershnova says as her tiny charges walk alongside her, recalling Princess Diana’s memorable description of the “moving carpet” that accompanied her mother-in-law everywhere. “Communicating with animals triggers hormones associated with happiness. And then the work can begin.”

Shershnova’s corgis are regular visitors to a rehabilitation centre for soldiers and veterans, but this event is all about celebrating the breed, with a bit of fundraising on the side. Nadia has brought all four of her corgis: parents Adele and Oscar, and two of their grown-up offspring, Lo and Nicole, all sporting sunhats. “I don’t really know why I chose corgis,” she says. “I just looked at them and fell in love”