Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. (August 13, 2024) – As the Russian-Ukraine war battles on for a third year, it can be easy to forget about the war’s voiceless victims. Since Russian tanks first rolled onto Ukrainian soil in February of 2022, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian pets have been displaced. As far back as two years ago, Helen Woodward Animal Center partnered with animal rescue organizations in Ukraine to assist in the rescue, rehabilitation, and rehoming of these orphan pets. Since that time, the Center has not forgotten the needs of these furry innocents, raising over $350,000 to help with the transportation, housing, and day-to-day care of Ukraine’s animals in need, as well as remaining in touch with rescue partners and aware of their progress. Here’s an update on the good work being done with Helen Woodward Animal Center’s assistance…
One of the biggest needs of the Center’s rescue partners in Ukraine has been reliable transportation. Bombed out roads make 4 x 4 vehicles a necessity for the rescue of animals and the delivery of lifesaving food and medical supplies. Helen Woodward Animal Center is proud to have provided three such vehicles to organizations in need across war-torn areas of Ukraine.
One such organization, based out of the border town of Kupyansk, called Promin Myloserdia (“Ray of Hope” in English), rescues and rehabilitates orphan pets from front line combat zones. In earlier days, the group’s efforts had been bottle necked by logistics. None of the brave volunteers had a vehicle, so they were forced to rely on chartering taxis to take them 60 miles away to the city of Kharkiv, farther away from the fighting. This solution worked for a time, but when the front lines grew closer to Kupyansk most of the town’s population fled, taking their vehicles with them. Although many of “Ray of Hope’s” volunteers stayed behind to continue saving abandoned animals, they didn’t have reliable transportation to take them to Kharkiv. Thanks to the community’s fundraising efforts, Helen Woodward Animal Center was able to get these brave animal welfare volunteers a 4×4 rescue van capable of handling the rough road from Kupyansk to Kharkiv. “Ray of Hope” is now making regular treks back and forth, taking animals to Kharkiv and supplies to Kupyansk.
Of course, the need in Ukraine doesn’t stop at transportation. An animal rescue group based in the city of Pavlograd called Daruyuchy nadiyu (“Giving Hope” in English) struggles to house all of the orphan pets arriving from the front lines. Like Kharkiv, Pavlograd is located only 60 miles from the brunt of the fighting in eastern Ukraine. Thus, the city sees an overwhelming number of evacuated animals come from the frontlines on their way to safer parts of the country. Shelters in the area were unable to comfortably house the influx of temporary tenants and had to resort to overcrowding the few kennels available. Relief came when Helen Woodward Animal Center provided a cash injection to the rescue group. Thanks to the San Diego community’s donations, the animal rescue groups of Pavlograd were able to expand their kennel space and ensure they could house every orphan pet coming through their doors.
Perhaps more basically, but no less crucially, the Center’s rescue partners have needed funds to support their day-to-day operations. Thanks to the community’s help, Helen Woodward Animal Center provided funding to rescue groups near the war zone, enabling them to spay and neuter hundreds of orphan pets – which helps control the population and secure their overall well-being and health. They were also able to acquire and distribute over 2,000 doses of assorted medicines to animals in need; and to renovate the decayed infrastructure of a shelter that houses and cares for front line felines.
While the tides of war continue, animal rescue groups in Ukraine still need your help. To find out how you can make an impact, go to https://happypaw.ua/en.
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About Helen Woodward Animal Center
Helen Woodward Animal Center is a private, non-profit organization where “people help animals and animals help people.” Founded in 1972 in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., the Center provides services for more than 90,000 people and more than 10,000 animals annually through adoptions, educational and therapeutic programs both onsite and throughout the community. Helen Woodward Animal Center is also the creator of the International Home 4 the Holidays pet adoption drive, the International Remember Me Thursday® campaign and The Business of Saving Lives Workshops, teaching the business of saving lives to animal welfare leaders from around the world. For more information, go to: https://animalcenter.org.
