Tragic photos show Ukrainians fleeing the country with their beloved pets
Barely a week ago, the unimaginable happened.
Russian troops crossed the Ukrainian border from various approaches, plunging both countries into a state of war. One day, they were cars and people on the streets of Ukrainian cities. All of a sudden, these cars are now racing towards the borders.
Overnight, civilians had to uproot their lives just to make it to safety. Families took what they could lay their hands on – a few spare clothes, important documents, and their children. While others endured the trek to the border together with their trusted pets.
As the conflict rages, photos of people saving their pets are circulating the internet.
Hundreds of thousands of innocent people rushed to the borders of neighboring countries like Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. Fortunately, these nations are allowing Ukrainians to bring in their pets to their side of the border even without veterinary paperwork.
However, this also meant that some pets, farm animals, and strays were left behind. Shelter workers heroically stayed in the country to make sure that these animals are looked after but they also need help.
Here are just some of the organizations that are at the front of animal care.
UAnimals is currently collecting donations to support shelters and zoos.
The organization has helped several shelters across Ukraine including Give A Paw, Chance For Life, Pif, and Sirius.
They are also sharing constant updates about other shelters, especially those at risk of being attacked bombed. They have Patreon account set up for donations.
Happy Paw is a nonprofit that promotes the humane treatment of animals.
This treatment extends to shelter animals, the abandoned, and strays. They are currently engaged in information gathering and dissemination, especially on the conditions of different shelters and their urgent needs.
“According to our data, all animals are alive and there is food for the next few days. The biggest problem is that no delivery service is currently able to deliver the necessary food and groceries to the shelters. And also in the absence of fuel for vehicles and the possibility in some regions to withdraw cash or calculate a grocery card,” they wrote in a recent Facebook post.
You can check their website for donations.
Two organizations are also staying behind.
Shelter Ugolyok is building up a wartime food stockpile for their animals. However, they are currently facing logistical challenges since some of their sites are close to the bombings.
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Sirius, one of the country’s largest animal shelters, is trying to take care of stray animals in the Kyiv area and its suburbs. Because of the magnitude of their operations, the shelter badly needs help.
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“We are not going to run! We must believe in our country and our defenders!” they said in a recent Instagram post. You can make a donation through their website.
Outside Ukraine, other animal organizations are also lending a hand.
Romanian nonprofit Casa Iui Patrocle is currently at the Romanian-Ukrainian border, assisting people with housing, shelter, and veterinary assistance. Through your donations, they can make sure that no family crossing the border will leave their pet behind.
In these difficult times, it is important that we look after each other. No matter where you are in the world, you can help with this crisis through different channels.
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Source: The Dodo, Yahoo! Sports, Facebook – UAnimals, Facebook – Happy Paw, Instagram – shelter_ugolyok, Facebook – Casa lui Patrocle – Animal Rescue