A 23-year-old Venezuelan man is preparing to say goodbye to a pet squirrel he says he brought from his home country on a journey to Mexico.Yeison is among the millions of Venezuelans in recent years who have fled because of political and economic upheaval, and has spent months in Mexico waiting to make an asylum case in the US.He is now scheduled to get that chance but will probably have to leave behind his pet squirrel, Niko.The pair are an unusual but blunt reflection of the emotional choices

A 23-year-old Venezuelan man is preparing to say goodbye to a pet squirrel he says he brought from his home country on a journey to Mexico.Yeison is among the millions of Venezuelans in recent years who have fled because of political and economic upheaval, and has spent months in Mexico waiting to make an asylum case in the US.He is now scheduled to get that chance but will probably have to leave behind his pet squirrel, Niko.The pair are an unusual but blunt reflection of the emotional choices migrants make over what to take - and what to leave behind - as they embark on the dangerous trip north.Yeison, who declined to give his last name because he fears for his family's safety in Venezuela, said going without Niko was out of the question.But Mexico is where they might be forced to part ways.Yeison has secured an appointment to present himself at the border to seek entry to the US and request asylum.Animals are generally not allowed to cross the border."It would practically be like st