Hello everyone, Our cat Persik (Peach) is still waiting for us in Istanbul. She has been far away from us for more than a year, and every day we feel the emptiness without her. She is not just a pet — she is part of our family. Persik lived with us through many moments of our lives, and it has been incredibly painful knowing she is still in Istanbul while we are now in California. Right now Persik is staying at a pet hotel in Istanbul. She is safe there, but we have to keep paying for her stay every month. Because of this, it has been very difficult for us to save enough money to finally bring her home. Over the past year our life has been very challenging. I spent 15 months in detention, which affected both my health and our financial situation. We are currently trying to rebuild our life from zero in California, and being separated from Persik has been emotionally very hard for us. Our journey here was complicated. Because of the difficult political situation in my home region — I am half Russian and half Ukrainian — we had to leave and search for a safer place to rebuild our lives. For some time we lived in Istanbul while trying to figure out our future, and later we moved to California to create a stable home for our family. Our biggest wish now is simple: to finally reunite with Persik and bring her home. We are raising funds to help cover transportation from Istanbul to California, veterinary documents and airline requirements, and travel preparation. If you are able to help with a donation, share this story, or help us find someone traveling from Istanbul to the United States who could help bring Persik, we would be deeply grateful. Every bit of help brings us one step closer to bringing our family back together. Thank you so much for your kindness. Vladislav