The drama of pets in the Ukrainian war: the dogs and cats of kyiv who survive in a shelter amid the bombs

The families marched.

They took what little they could. They carried bags. It was untimely.

Missiles fell and anyone could touch him. It was the beginning of the war. So you didn’t know what could happen. It was the time when the borders were filled with refugees. Up to 3.8 million people have left Ukraine since the war began.

The dogs and cats were left alone. They drifted. Disoriented without their owners. They ate whatever was on hand. The little food they had managed to leave them. When the food ran out, they went for what they could. They passed through ruins. They rummaged through more empty houses, scrambled over rubble, sniffed out what stood in their way. Even the dead.

Stunned by the bombs, lacking food, they began a long journey. The long march of domestic animals in search, no longer of their owners, those who turned them into pets, but of the survival. It was a journey from the domestic to the primitive, fueled by the sounds of war. A journey into the wild.

There are dogs that walked up to a hundred kilometers to reach the suburbs of the capital. They walked down empty highways. They passed checkpoints. They stepped on glass. They ran through woods. There are cats that it is not known how they appeared in the big city.

The pets in war drama it is seen on all urban walls. Posters with telephone numbers indicate where to go if one comes across any of these animals that wander aimlessly or without destination, especially on the outskirts of kyiv.

It is strange, but there, in the middle of the street, in the deserted blocks of the Obolón district or the bombed-out Podilsky, Siberians with beautiful fur appear, bulldogs that do not look brave but scared, skinny sheepdogs, fox terriers invaded by fear.

They look through the rubble, fearful, not knowing whether to approach or not. Until someone shows up. And he takes them.

It is the best thing that can happen to those defenseless beings, war victims not included in any statistics. The dogs and cats of kyiv began to be saved by a network of volunteers who were 100 percent dedicated first to rescuing them and then to getting them out of the country. Either way.

Since the war began, they have organized a system to first keep them in shelters, cure them of the pests that are accumulating, guarantee them food, calm them down on nights of bombardment, and finally analyze and finalize their exile to countries like Poland and Austria.

Other countries, such as Hungary, accept animals but first impose a strict quarantine on them. Germany, due to rabies, does not allow pets to enter.

Kristina Bohdiazh is 23 years old and before the conversation begins she asks the envoys of Clarion if they could take at least one dog with them when they leave the country. “Up to five dogs per person are allowed to cross at the border. You take them and we already have the recipient families located in Poland”, she says enthusiastically.

It will not be possible, but in any case the young woman, who decided to stay with her boyfriend in kyiv, invites you to visit the refuge that she manages, called “The house of dogs without breed” (although the dogs are purebred and it is notorious).

The place is in the Podilsky district, a populous neighborhood where missiles have not stopped falling in the last month. The shelter is in danger and must be evacuated soon. There were 80 animals last week. Now 40. Before arriving, Kristina leads the team to a feed store. Bags of pet food are loaded into the car of Clarion.

“I manage everything from home: purchases, shipments. Right now a van is leaving for the border with five dogs that are going to Warsaw. I can do everything from the computer and from time to time go to the shelter”, explains the young woman with blue eyes.

“But now we have a problem: the Missiles fall closer and closer. The last one was 500 meters. It is unsustainable for anyone. Animals suffer tremendously from it,” he explains. The car finally parks on the spot.

Clarion enter the world of dogs and cats of kyiv. A woman with dyed blue hair opens the door. Another woman with a wrinkled face and eight months pregnant leads the way. She moves between small cages. She hugs the animals. She kisses them.

It’s bone-chilling cold, but she still seems warm-blooded. She is rolling up her sleeves and getting ready to bathe a bulldog. Inside each cage, the dogs with their sad eyes observe the visitors. Few bark. Almost everyone seems to be invaded by some expectation. They expect something from visitors. They allow themselves to be photographed. It’s moving.

There is a room full of syringes and medicine. “It’s the vet room -explains Kristina-, luckily we have volunteers and donations of all kinds. This is maintained only with the help of the people. Cats seem to suffer more. They are called to silence. They curl up and try to sleep. To the dogs, when they cannot rest, we give them some painkiller”.

But it is time to act. Kristina says it’s time to tear down the shelter, or at least empty it. We have to get the animals out of there because the neighborhood is dangerous. It is true that the siege of kyiv could stop immediately. But no one trusts Putin. No one believes that Russia’s true intention is to dismantle this war now.

Kristina answers the phone. She manages animal shipments. They order them from all over Europe. The dogs are now animated. The women feed them anything: chicken, canned tuna. Medicines are mixed into the food for a non-breed dog showing signs of mange. The machinery of solidarity does not stop. And the long journey of the dogs from kyiv still continues.