IFAW is a global non-profit organization that specializes on helping pets and people thrive together. When the war started in Ukraine, IFAW rushed emergency aid to those in need, and continues to help animals affected by the ongoing and heartbreaking conflict.
Thanks to support from IFAW, we at U-Hearts Foundation were able to purchase 20 tons of pet food for distribution across Ukraine: in the regions of Chernigiv, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Odesa, Dnipro, Kramatorsk, Zaporizhia and Luhansk. Together, IFAW and U-Hearts Foundation were able to help over 6.000 animals and now are happy with the final results!
How to help homeless animals
Nowadays almost every Ukrainian is surrounded with the issues: “how to help homeless dogs” or the point of helping homeless cats.
Among the most effective methods are feeding and carrying out a careful delivery to the veterinarian (if the animal got into a traumatic accident).
Here is the story of just one of the animals we were able to feed and help together with IFAW. Several of our volunteers are veterinarians and owners of veterinary clinics. The name of one of them is Kateryna. She is from Chernihiv. She told us about one of her regular pet clients, Dobby, who we managed to provide food for.
«When the shelling started in Chernihiv city, Dobby was extremely stressed. Her disquiet kept increasing and developed into adverse health effects such as urinary incontinence, although Dobby is only 1,5 years old. Being in constant fear, the kindest dog in the world became aggressive and could not control her emotions.
Dobby’s parents quickly took action and contacted me when the first symptoms appeared. Of course we wanted to help her as soon as possible, but we encountered many obstacles: endless shelling, power cuts, communication and the internet outages. We prescribed the treatment for the dog, but in such conditions it wasn’t perfect.»
The story of Dobby’s family is also incredible. The husband went to defend Ukraine as part of the armed forces; the wife sent their children to her relatives in a remote village, and stayed behind on her own to treat Dobby in Chernihiv, and even started charity activities! She delivers goods to those in need and food for pets, while Dobby always remains nearby and has become another member of the volunteer team.
Dobby’s health has improved significantly now, although the effects of the stress have not fully disappeared yet. After the liberation of Chernihiv from the Russian troops, the roads were safe and finally opened for the transportation of necessary aid for animals.
Both IFAW and U-Hearts Foundation teams are happy to be a part of such stories by helping with pet food. Finally, everyone should definitely do his best in order to help Ukrainian pets, taking all needed measures and putting all the present forces dedicated to realization of noble deeds.
