One year after Russia launched its brutal war on Ukraine, animal rescue has struggled and triumphed in some areas. In others, it’s hanging by a thread.
Christina, shelter manager at Prytulok Dyla Tvaryn “Best Friends” West of Kyiv, and her husband Sasha were dining Tuesday when a blast ripped their motor home parked at the shelter.
“The wall I was sitting next to was riddled with explosive debris,” Christina posted on Facebook. Under fire, frightened workers piled into the couple’s vehicle. The group fled to a nearby forest. Sasha ran back to the shelter, braved burning enclosures and freed many of the shelter’s inhabitants. Barred by fierce bombing, fire crews could not dispatch to the scene, leaving Sasha to fight the fires solo.
“I am so proud to have a man who loves the shelter and its residents with all his heart,” Christina reported. “Thanks to him a lot of animals stayed alive.”
Also near Kyiv, Happy Paw marked the grim milestone by lauding the supporters who’ve kept them strong: “It is only because of your support that we continue to do what we can every day. We feed animals in front zones, save lives of mutilated tails, rebuild shelters destroyed by humans and at the same time try to sterilize as many lost and abandoned animals as possible to prevent the ecological catastrophe we may face in the future.”
Located in remote Druze, Day Lapu continues to fit special needs dogs with prosthetics, including scooters, though parts and tools are in short stock because of bombed-out roads.
Launched five years ago as a rehab and sanctuary for wild animals, Domivka, Outside Lviv, converted a huge brick shed once used for trash into a refuge for hundreds of pets orphaned by war. Since the invasion, the shelter has hosted thousands of animals. Adoptions were brisk at the outset given relaxed border restrictions for things like vaccinations, but have since slowed because many of the remaining animals are older or injured, officials told the New York Times.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) has partnered with several organizations to help supply essential goods and services to domestic and wild animals and the Ukrainian people.
Services have included microchipping and spay/neuter services through the Ukrainian Small Animals Veterinary Association; providing mattresses, blankets and insulated houses for dogs and cats as well as pet food and home veterinary visits for the poor through the Mykolaiv Red Cross and Nova Ukraine; and supplying hay and compound feed to the Ukrainian Equestrian Charity Foundation. IFAW has also stationed volunteer veterinarians at friendly borders to examine and vaccinate outgoing pets and aided in wild animal rescue.
The U-Hearts Foundation and UAnimals have also fueled the international push to serve and save as many pets as possible. Through its partnering efforts, IFAW claims to have saved more than 103,000 animals.
Relief efforts face stiff challenges as Russia shifts its attack targets from transportation arteries to fuel supplies and energy infrastructure. As of this writing, nearly half of Ukraine’s power grids have been destroyed. Residents nationwide are left without heat, light and water for half the day. Shelters scramble to keep pets warm as nighttime temps dip well into the single digits.
Please link the above organizations to find out how you can help. Thank you!