When the first missiles rattled Kyiv in February 2021, Kobus Olivier was ready for it. Or so the South African thought. Four years earlier he moved to the beautiful city in Ukraine to start a new life. He knew a war was brewing when thousands of Russian troops gathered at the border, but the locals laughed it off. "It’s fear mongering", they said. Fleeing alone was never an option for Kobus.

Not without my dogs tells the remarkable story of how Kobus managed to save himself and his four-legged friends. While explosions lit up the sky Kobus had one goal in mind: to save his four dogs. This book is a testament of the human spirit and how even in times of war, strangers lend a hand.