Donations have helped abandoned pets receive vital veterinary care.

As the war in Ukraine continues, animal shelters in the country have been working hard to find forever homes for pets which have become separated from their owners.

U-Hearts Foundation, which was launched in February 2022 to help animals affected by the full-scale Russian invasion, is running a project to facilitate adoption with four shelters in Kyiv, Poltava, Dnipro, and Cherkasy as part of a patronage program.

The non-profit organisation has provided food and anti-parasitic treatments, and facilitated vaccinations, sterilisations, and microchipping. So far they have helped to vaccinate 64 pets looking for a home and sterilised 60.

Hani, who was rescued after the destruction of the Kakhovka dam caused extensive flooding, is one of the dogs they have helped. He arrived at the Kyiv shelter exhausted and frightened, after his previous owners couldn’t be traced.

During his veterinary treatment at the shelter, he was diagnosed with dirofilaria, as were many other dogs from Kherson. Fortunately, he has now found a new home with a family in Kyiv and is continuing to receive treatment.

Some of the other dogs from the shelters have been adopted by families further afield, including in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, and Poland. Although it is safe for the shelter in Kyiv to rehome animals locally, shelters in other regions closer to the frontline try to find new homes for their animals in safer areas.

Other pets at the shelters are still waiting to find their forever home. Finik was rescued in a small town near Kyiv following a social media post. He had been chained up with a dirty water bowl and pieces of bread to eat.

Because of his traumatic life so far, he is fearful of people, cars, and loud noises. However, at the shelter he is being looked after. He has been groomed to tidy up his coat and received veterinary care.

Yuriy Tokarski, CEO of U-Hearts Foundation, said: “The Patronage Program for Shelters, supported by U-Hearts, has an important goal: to promote and simplify adoptions in Ukraine and demonstrate that street animals can become your best friends, even without an exclusive pedigree or a long lineage.”

Images (C) U-Hearts Foundation