Infobae in Odessa: the shelter that rescues abandoned dogs from war

Ukrainians have pets, which are also the protagonists of heartbreaking scenes. Every time there is an evacuation, the number of people who go out with animals is immense. Cats and dogs mainly. Some birds. But today not everyone can stay with them. It is one of the side dramas of this war, ignored by many because of the resounding tragedy of the huge number of civilians killed. But the conflict is there, although there are no official figures of how many animals died in the attacks.

It is also not known how many were abandoned, but more and more people have to leave their homes and not everyone can travel with their pets. Many do, it is not strange to see families in hotels with dogs, something not so common in other times. But many other older people above all, do not dare to move with animals.

Some say that there are people who take their dogs out on the street and leave them, tell them to leave. There are also cats living in empty houses. Those who left today are asking friends or family to rescue their pets, but not everyone is encouraged to enter certain attacked areas or combat situations. Some, it is known, will die abandoned. Others, however, are being saved.

On the outskirts of Odessa, 20 kilometers to the south, is Natasha's refuge. It is a house with a garden in the middle of nowhere, facing a huge muddy field. There he receives animals abandoned since before the Russian invasion, and continues his task despite the attacks.

Natasha doesn't like to be interviewed but says that today she houses seven dogs, and a few days ago two more left for the Czech Republic, adopted by a family. She doesn't want to leave her house and thinks the Russians aren't going to get there, “so the dogs are safe,” she says, and she is with them too.

The difficult thing in these times is to get them food. That is why you can access the shelter, Yevhen a neighbor from Odessa known in a note says that that afternoon he will go to bring meat for the abandoned dogs. Access the request to accompany it. His story, which is big, will be written on other pages, because every day he is dedicated to helping different people.

This time he travels with Tatyana and Eugeniy, two friends who have their own pets with them in Odessa but are responsible for tracking more endangered animals and finding a place for them. It's not an NGO or anything like that, they're just a network of friends looking for the angle from which to help. The dogs in Natasha's shelter are in cages. Just parking the car outside you start to hear the barking. Two days ago they haven't eaten because Natasha can't move to shop, so she needs help.

There are also people at the border helping animals. At the entrance to Poland there is a German NGO dedicated to treating “animals traumatized by war”, according to Sonja Mortensen, a Danish volunteer at the border, tells the Press Association.

In Kharkiv, one of the cities hardest hit by the war, there are also volunteers helping pets. “Our team started working before the war, and when this started we decided to continue helping animals,” Olga Ilyunona tells a journalist from the Daily Beast.

Stories are being reproduced all over Ukraine, but it is increasingly difficult to reach them. When the Russians advance on Odessa, Natasha will be held incommunicado. He's not going to leave the dogs, he says, he's not going to give up his life's mission.

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