Helen Woodward Animal Center Urges the Community to Help Pets in Need
Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. (March 10, 2022) – Only two weeks ago, Russia began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in an escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War that began in 2014. The largest conventional military attack on a sovereign state in Europe since World War II, more than 2 million Ukrainian citizens have fled their homes with only their most precious possessions. Heartwarmingly, footage of border crossing lines show that beloved pets have made the cut. Unfortunately, the safe-passage of furry friends is only one of many challenges Ukrainian animal-lovers are battling. True to its mission of people helping animals and animals helping people, Helen Woodward Animal Center is pledging $50,000 to the Ukrainian animal welfare efforts with a heartfelt plea to local animal-lovers to match the pledge for a total of $100,000 in assistance.
The recent images seen on television screens across the country have shaken most Americans to their core. Both the bravery of the Ukrainian people and the stunning desperation of those who wait in border lines with only a few minor belongings are stirring reminders of how fragile and devastating life can be. Movingly, furry friends often accompany these soon-to-be homeless Ukrainian citizens. With little in the way of possessions, they take with them the most dedicated friends, on leashes, in carriers, in pockets and scarves. Tragically, however, some pets have been lost in the scramble to escape the war-torn country; food, money, and warmth are in desperate short supply; and Ukrainian shelters are facing destruction and violence.
Yesterday morning, Helen Woodward Animal Center President and CEO Mike Arms reached out to Tallinn City Government Chief Specialist Hellika Landsmann from the Estonia Animal Welfare Society. The Center forged a friendship with Landsmann and the group in 2019 when Center representatives traveled to the country in response to a request for training from eastern European shelters. Currently, Landsmann is in touch with associates working to help struggling animal welfare groups in Ukraine, as well as the pets of the Ukrainian refugees who are arriving in Poland, Latvia and Estonia with little more than a single suitcase and their furry friends. As the weeks pass, food and shelter are becoming increasingly hard to find and an incoming cold weather front is proving to be even more devastating and dangerous.
“The European people are incredibly supportive of the Ukrainians,” explained Landsmann. “Our countries are opening up hotels, apartments and spare rooms to these people and their pets. But there are millions coming and the process takes time. In the meantime, the people and animals are suffering and hungry and the cold spell is making things worse.”
“We can’t say that we want to make the world a better place for people and animals if we don’t respond immediately to the devastating circumstances facing Ukraine,” stated Arms in a Wednesday morning phone call with Landsmann. “We want to get finances and supplies to the organizations that can help us disperse needed items in the most effective ways, as quickly as possible.”
The Ukrainian animal shelters are facing even more dire circumstances. Less than a week ago, a 26-year-old shelter volunteer and her two male co-workers died in their efforts to deliver dog food to a shelter in Bucha that had been without supplies for three days. On Wednesday, a shelter in Kharkiv was fired upon by Russian military killing five canines. Only hours later, a Ukrainian zoo suffered the same fate losing two kangaroos.
UAnimals, a non-profit Ukrainian animal rights organization, is working valiantly to assist the groups trapped in war-torn areas. Their recent Facebook post reads: “Unfortunately, the situation in the shelters is getting worse every day. As of today, a number of Ukrainian shelters and zoos are blocked in cities where fights are underway. It is impossible to get into these settlements, and especially – it is impossible to take animals out… We are trying our best to help the animals there, so we have already sent food to the Kharkiv Zoo, and we are also taking food to the local shelters.”
Helen Woodward Animal Center is pledging $50,000 to animal welfare organizations working to help displaced animals and their families now in Eastern Europe, as well as orphan pets who remain in Ukraine. The Center is making a heartfelt plea to local animal-lovers to match the pledge for a total of $100,000 in assistance. The Center is working with a longstanding partner organization in Estonia to distribute funds to organizations like UAnimals in Ukraine and other groups in Poland. Your donation supports relief efforts to ensure loving pets are provided food, warmth and medical attention.
To help or for more information head to www.animalcenter.org/ukraine. You can also call 858-756-4117, or visit Helen Woodward Animal Center at 6461 El Apajo Road in Rancho Santa Fe.