The UAnimals volunteer community is celebrating its first anniversary! Today, it boasts over 2,300 members, each contributing uniquely to animal protection. Volunteers assist in shelters, participate in nature clean-ups, evacuate animals from dangerous areas, or distribute food in frontline cities and villages.

Viktoriya Ovsiannikova recently returned from such a trip. She distributed a hundred kilograms of cat and dog food in the Kharkiv region, including in Zolochiv and the villages of Hubarivka and Kalynove, which have been ravaged by shelling. In these cities and villages, residents care for many animals abandoned by their previous owners.

Viktoriya lives in Bohodukhiv, Kharkiv region, where she works as a secretary in a medical institution. Her husband, who initially helped with animal volunteering, joined the Armed Forces this year.

Outside of her work with UAnimals, Viktoriya leads an active animal protection life. Thanks to her and her friend Yuliya Kachkariova, many homeless animals find new families. They also ensure these animals are sterilized, aiming to reduce the number of stray dogs and cats in Bohodukhiv. Viktoriya shared all of this in the interview.

Operation Puppy Rescue and Animal Protection in Bohodukhiv   

I have always felt sorry for stray animals, but what could I do? I would feed them and move on. I lacked the resolve to do more until one particular incident.

In 2019, a video appeared on our community’s social media about a homeless dog in Bohodukhiv that had given birth to ten puppies. The video urged people to adopt them. In our town lives a veterinarian, Yuliya Kachkariova, who had previously given me advice over the phone when my cat was sick. We have kept in touch on social media. Then, we both saw the post about the street dogs at the same time and decided to go see if we could help.

In the meantime, the puppies had become a bit too popular: many people approached them, scaring them into hiding. Yuliya and I spent two months catching them from under concrete slabs and giving them away. It was an entire operation that brought us closer together.

This friendship gave me the strength and support to help animals more actively. Yuliya already had experience finding homes for stray cats and dogs, but now we do it together. We also often temporarily take animals in because there are no shelters in our town.

Yuliya spays and neuters stray dogs and cats for free. We also have a charity account where residents of the Bohodukhiv community can donate money for spaying and neutering or treatment if they want to support stray animals.

Previously, Bohodukhiv residents were wary of sterilization, especially the religious ones. They believed it was a sin. But recently, a local priest had his dog sterilized and told his congregation about it. Since then, their attitude has changed. They say: sterilize your pet and have a clear conscience!

Practically all the stray animals in our town are now sterilized. I believe this has led to fewer aggressive animals in Bohodukhiv. They roam the town peacefully, and no one chases them away. On the contrary, lately, I’ve seen people placing water for the animals in the park and near various businesses. Many people at the market take care of the strays. Attitudes toward animals in Bohodukhiv are changing. I hope that in the future, conflicts between people and animals will be minimal.

Legal Victory  

In June, a person in our community was punished for animal abuse. I spent seven months visiting various authorities to make it happen, and I was the one who reported it to the police.

In a village near Bohodukhiv, there is a man who kept animals but didn’t feed them. We believe he took his dog to the forest, put it in a sack, and abandoned it. The dog chewed through the sack and survived, later found by people. However, there was no direct evidence that the owner did this, although neighbors had long known about his treatment of animals. Later, this same man got a puppy and chained it up. After some time, the puppy died from the cold.

I didn’t know how to proceed. I should have called the investigative team, but a patrol arrived instead. Again, it was impossible to prove that the owner’s actions led to the animal’s death. But I am sure that was the case.

The owner was fined for improper animal care (under Article 154 of the Code of Administrative Offenses). Previously, no one in the community dealt with such cases. If someone beat a dog or took it to the forest, people would say, “Well, it’s their dog, they can do whatever they want.” Now, we have a precedent where the owner was punished for such actions.

And now, I know how to act in such cases.

Evacuating Animals from Kharkiv: Combat Parrots and Other Rescues

At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, my husband and I transported many animals. When serious shelling began in Kharkiv, it was quiet in our area. We understood that many people would leave Kharkiv, and there would be trouble with animals there. I was subscribed to many Kharkiv groups, and people started posting, “Take our dog” and “Looking for families for our puppies.” We brought animals from Kharkiv to Bohodukhiv and found owners for them. I was most surprised that in difficult times, people were willing to take in animals, some even multiple ones.

On our first trip, such exotic animals were in the car! Five puppies were in two boxes in the trunk. Two cages with parrots were on the back seat, and a guinea pig was in a small carrier. When we approached a checkpoint, the soldiers looked into our car, and my husband said, “Do you need combat parrots?”

The emotions are hard to describe… I remember now with tears in my eyes. It was scary then, but everything worked out thanks to people who were willing to take animals into their families.

Violetta Tohobytska, a doctoral student at the National University of Civil Protection of Ukraine, helped us a lot in Kharkiv. She sheltered many animals. Violetta lives in the Kholodna Hora area (a locality in the western part of Kharkiv). She went to Saltivka (the eastern part of the city), which was heavily shelled and took animals to her place. We met her in Kholodna Hora, took the animals, and transported them further. There were people in Kharkiv who went to dangerous areas to save animals.

Sara the Shepherd Dog

In the early days of the full-scale invasion, when Kharkiv residents were hiding in the subway, a woman called me. She said, “I’m a veterinarian. Yesterday, a dog was brought to me in the subway, and they asked me to euthanize it. Now I’m sitting in the underground with a shepherd dog. Can you find it a home?” It was a generally healthy shepherd dog named Sara. The people said they were leaving and couldn’t take Sara with them, “If you want, we’ll leave her with you, or we’ll inject her with something, and that will be it.” Of course, the doctor refused. These people came back the next day and said they tried to poison the dog, but the poison didn’t work. They just left Sara there and went away.

Sara was 9 years old and, though not ill, had poor eyesight. It was wartime, people were leaving… And here was an old shepherd dog — who would need her?

It was February 26, 2022. People were afraid to go to Kharkiv. Even my husband refused. I found a driver in Bohodukhiv who still went and picked up Sara.

I was worried because she was an adult dog, and I had only dealt with puppies before. But it turned out that Sara was very smart, well-behaved, and calm. We concluded she was a service dog because she knew all the commands.

My friend Olha agreed to take her. She prepared a place in the boiler room with good conditions. But soon, she called and said, “You know, the dog is missing. “How could she get out of the boiler room if you have a door there?” We started searching. The shepherd dog had poor vision, and there was a lot of traffic in the city center! I had already lost hope, but the next day, I saw her at the market. We found Sara.

There were cameras in that room. We reviewed the footage. It was interesting to see how the dog got out. It turned out Sara approached the door, pressed the handle with her paw, and went out.

Olha had taken the shepherd dog temporarily but decided to keep her permanently. So, Sara still lives with her.

To the Shelter with Puppies, But Without the Husband

Over the past two years, we have found homes for about 300 animals. Even I am amazed by these numbers.

At first, I was scared to take in new animals. At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, I had five puppies at home. I thought, “If we have to hide quickly, how will I get all the animals to the basement?”

Later, when we experienced explosions, my daughter would be the first to run to the basement with two dogs, followed by me with a box containing the five puppies. Once, I got stuck in the doorway with this box. My husband stood behind me, unable to get out because I was blocking the way. He said, “You see, you saved the animals, but you forgot me here!” There were times when my husband was already in the basement, and I was still running around the house, collecting the puppies.

I am always filled with joy when I find a home for a cat or a dog. If I have helped some living being, I tell myself, “Vika, you didn’t live this day in vain!” I have found my purpose in helping animals. A person can help themselves, but only a person can help an animal. 

If you meet them “on a volunteer assignment” and want to say hello, they probably won’t shake your hand. Not because they’re unfriendly — quite the opposite, their hands are usually full with firewood, boards, tools or leashes for walking dogs. And their faces show both tiredness and satisfaction. It’s a mix of feelings after work that fills them up.

My conversation partners are from the UAnimals volunteer community. Here’s how it works: people from any city or village in Ukraine register in a Telegram bot that offers various tasks in the field of animal protection. Volunteers choose which of them they are interested in and agree to participate. You can distribute animal food to those in need, help in shelters, clean up parks or plant seedlings. Curator Anastasiia Kovalchuk helps with the details. Currently, there are over 1500 volunteers in the community, spread across all regions of Ukraine.

An actress? A designer? A mechanic? A top manager? Even the prime minister or the first lady! Anyone who shares UAnimals’ values of humane treatment of animals can join the community. I talked to volunteers from four regions. Let’s get to know:

• Liza from Zaporizhzhia, working in advertising and marketing;
• Nataliia from Mykolaiv, branch manager of an energy company;
• Vika from Bohodukhiv in Kharkiv region, a secretary in a medical institution;
• Mariia from Kyiv, a stylist and makeup artist;
• Anzhelika from Kyiv, a photo editor;
• Ivan from Kyiv, a top manager in a technical company;
• Anhelina from Mykolaiv and Kyiv, studying journalism and acting in theatre.

“We asked for something to do ourselves”: about the tasks in the UAnimals volunteer community

Vika with her friend Yuliia, a veterinarian

Vika: I travelled with humanitarian aid across the Kharkiv region — distributing food for cats and dogs. I was in Zolochiv, Chornohlazivka and then in my town, Bohodukhiv. In Zolochiv, a local volunteer Nastia Nechaieva helped me organise everything. We had 200 kilograms of food. At first, I thought I would have to spend the whole day walking around and offering it to people in their yards. But when Nastia called people from the market, and when we saw this crowd, we were shocked. People with many animals approached — seven dogs and nine cats each. It took us 20 minutes to distribute all of this!

Liza with her friend volunteering

Liza: I also distributed food several times. Back then, it was relatively calm towards Komyshuvakha, so I drove there by car. I visited villages such as Shchaslyve, Kushchove, Novoivanivka, Yasna Poliana, Hryhorivka and Zhovtenke. They sent me 100 kilograms of food per trip. My friend Daria and I distributed it all, weighing and packing it ourselves, one kilo per dog or cat. And we went together, as it was more convenient: one of us would pick up the food, while the other one would talk to the locals.

On our first trip, we were worried, especially when passing through checkpoints: we had to explain in detail why and where we were going, and all our answers were recorded. Then we got used to it a bit. The last two trips were to Hryhorivka and Zhovtenke, where there are difficulties with food, and people find it hard to go to the city. We were driving down the streets, if we saw a person, we called out and asked. Every family that has stayed there has many animals: from three dogs and sometimes to ten cats. People take care of the animals of their neighbours, who have left, and also pick up and feed the stray ones. Moreover, many animals were brought there from Orikhiv. So the food was gone very quickly.

Nataliia and her dog Dana

Nataliia: Well, what can I say: I handed out food under the rockets and drove off! I started driving in the summer and still regularly go to the frontline villages: Prybuzke, Lyman, Dmytrivka. I went to Ochakiv and also to the village of Kutsurub: there is a constant artillery shelling there, as the russians are just 5 kilometres away, on the Kinburn Spit. They even reach there with tanks.

When I went for the first time, I just handed out food to people on the streets. But then I got to know a military volunteer. It was she who already showed me where the pensioners lived, and we brought food directly to their homes.

Those villages that were right on the front line are destroyed — every house is shattered. During the fights, there was nobody there, and now people are returning, rebuilding whatever they can… It’s emotionally tough to see the ruins and hear tragic stories, but if not us, then who?

Ivan is a top manager on weekdays and a volunteer on weekends

Ivan: We take on every task. With Mariia, Anhelina and Anzhelika, we often meet for clean-ups, repairs or walking dogs in shelters. On our last trip, we visited Rifugio shelter. They gave us a tour and told us how the animals lived and how they were fed. It was more of a relaxed visit to feed the animals and pet them. But we asked for something to do ourselves because we’re volunteers. So we moved some firewood a little, dragged some boards, fed goats and horses — everyone brought some treats.

Personally, it’s not so important for me what exactly to do in the shelter, the main thing is that we’re getting involved in the process. Once, I went to the shelter to help with cleaning. I was 15 minutes late, and everyone was already busy cleaning, so they just let me walk the dogs. And this is very important work! When there are 300 dogs in the shelter and they are walked only once every three days, they really need it. I’m up for any task: feeding, pouring water for stray animals. In our community, we don’t pick and choose: “I’ll do this, I won’t do that.”

Liza: There are many directions in animal protection. You can financially support shelters. You can walk animals in shelters. In Zaporizhzhia, there’s a vet clinic that temporarily houses stray animals. So, for example, you can go there and walk the dogs. An important direction is to teach children how to communicate with animals, to explain that they are also living beings who feel. And the easiest way is to take a bag of food and feed stray animals. Anyone can do that.

“Filling up when giving love”: why volunteer?

Mariia: It motivates and uplifts the mood, especially when you manage to do something at the shelter. Usually, there’s a pleasant atmosphere, and interesting people gather there. It’s more about satisfaction.

Anhelina: Satisfaction from being needed.

Anzhelika: I even selfishly enjoy the fact that on weekends, you can go to the shelter — actually to nature, where there’s some physical work. I get a kick out of it. I especially love walking dogs because I can’t have my own one yet.

Ivan: For me, it’s also a kind of relaxation. I had a vacation a week ago. I spent three days of it in shelters. In Zoopatrul, Patron and Rifugio. I look at my photos — and after volunteering, my eyes always shine. No matter how hard it may seem, it always gives energy.

Ivan at Rifugio

Anhelina: When you go on a volunteer assignment, you have a goal. When you achieve it, you come back home like, “Wow…”. You fill up. You fill up when you touch happy animals, when you help animals that have suffered from war or people, and when you give love. And it doesn’t matter whether you give this love to people or animals.

Once I took photos of Ryzhyk at the shelter. He’s probably the most photogenic cat in the world. He was really like a supermodel: lifting his paws, turning his face to the camera, making different expressions… I posted everything on Instagram, and after a while, I saw that someone liked his photos, and now he has a home. It’s at moments like these that you understand what it’s all for.

“Guys, be quiet, you’ll wake up the bat”: most memorable moments

Vika: My husband and I rescued animals from Kharkiv when there was heavy shelling. Sometimes from Oleksiivka, sometimes from Saltivka… We had guinea pigs and parrots. And when people were ready to take in the animals, we took them to Krasnyi Kut, Merefa, even to Krasnohrad… I was ready to go anywhere so that the animals could have a family. When I remember all this, tears come to my eyes.

I was surprised by the fact that people were ready to take in animals. It never happened that puppies stayed with us for more than two months. In 2022, since the start of the full-scale war, about 300 animals were given away.

Mariia: I have a vivid memory from my childhood: when I was around 13 years old, I pulled puppies out of a trash bin. My mom and I heard something whimpering, so we went to see. It turned out blind puppies were lying in that bin, and they weren’t easy to reach. So I had to climb in there. I’m still proud that I wasn’t afraid. We took them home, raised them, and our neighbour gave them away later.

Anzhelika: When I was little, my mom and I found a pigeon with a wounded wing and nursed it back to health. When we saw that it wanted to be free, we took it back to where we found it. And it flew away. I cried for three days because I got so attached to it.

Ivan: I remember my birthday a few years ago. It was December 28th. I go out onto the balcony, and I hear something like crackling. I lift the blanket — and there’s a bat. They were supposed to be asleep already. It somehow got onto the balcony, fell onto the blanket and woke up. I called the organisation that dealt with bats, and they told me: take it in a box, cover it with a net, put it in the fridge — and it will fall asleep there. So I did. The window washers came to clean my windows, they were banging. I told them, “Guys, be quiet, you’ll wake up the bat.” And these big guys, “Show us!” And there it was, sleeping in the box with only its paw sticking out. So the bat lived in my fridge until spring.

Anhelina: I remember Sara, a yard dog who lives at Patron. I used to walk her. Sara has no front legs, but she tries to walk. She’s a dog with such strong willpower, with a thirst for life. She trusts people, makes contact and keeps on living. Sara gives me strength, motivation and inspiration.

Inhabitant of the fridge

Sereda, Piatnytsia, Marharyn, and others: who live with volunteers at home

Liza: Right now, I have a cat in foster care. And there’s Luna, a dog. Four years ago, I found 11 puppies near an abandoned house. My friends and I treated and sterilized them. I kept Luna for myself.

Nataliia: Cats Barsik, Snizhok, Niusha, Tolstyi, Sonia. I also have a dog. Someone found her in a dumpster and was trying to find her a home. The puppy was scared and wouldn’t come to anyone. It turned out she had been bitten by a dog. In the clinic, they said, another day or two, and this puppy would have died. So now, I have a dog Dana, and they are friends with the cat Tolstyi.

Vika: In the Kharkiv group, there was a video of five puppies found in the central market. There was a little black one among them. I looked at him and thought: that’s it, he’s mine. Now he’s my dog Lumi. People don’t even believe he’s not purebred. He grew up so beautiful, it’s like a bonus for my volunteering.

I also have Zhulia, who gave birth to 10 puppies: the little ones were given away, and I took the dog. And moreover, two cats — Markusha and Bonia, both of them were found.

Zhulia is gentle, but very timid. She only bonded with me. And Lumi is very sociable, full of energy and emotions. He’s like a copy of me!

I rescued Bonia from the dumpster. And Markusha, whom my child found in a box near the pond — he’s just the cat of my dreams. Black mask, black ears, and beige himself. No one believes he’s a rescue.

Anzhelika: I have three cats: Sereda, Piatnytsia and Marharyn. The former ones are female and male cats from the same shelter with a year’s difference. The female cat wasn’t very sociable. When she got used to us, we went back to the shelter and got her. And we took the latter male cat last year. Piatnytsia [ed.: ‘Friday’ in Ukrainian] and Sereda [ed.: ‘Wednesday’ in Ukrainian] are named after the days we got them from the shelter. And Marharyn [ed.: from ‘Margarine’] is a boy, we associated him with something soft and chubby.

Ivan: I have one cat, Filia. She’s purebred — and she stands out. And with such a character, that one is enough for me!

“You should help people instead”: about other people’s attitude to animal volunteering

Ivan: I’m often asked: why do you do this, spend time and resources? Not everyone understands how instead of lying down on Saturday, you can get up and go to work.

Anzhelika: My friends support me in volunteering: I collected things for insulating enclosures, and my friends practically collected everything I needed.

Liza: People used to say, “Oh, you should help people instead.” Those who say that don’t help people either. It’s just idle talk. 

Nevertheless, people are mostly inspired when they see someone caring. Once I found kittens, posted them on Instagram, and my friends took them. Although they used to say “no animals.”

Nataliia: My husband supports me in animal volunteering, sometimes he went with me to distribute food. Of course, he wasn’t very happy that I kept bringing cats home one after another, but he got used to it. My daughter is an adult. When I had to feed the little kittens, we did it as a family: my daughter came, and my mother came too. It was like with little children. My family is with me in this, I’m not alone.

Who said ‘no animals’? The feathered patrol flies out to convince: no rescued animals are ever enough! That’s why UAnimals always have rescue projects — please support them.

Ivan: When new people come to shelters, it’s a responsibility. If you come, it’s important to know how to handle animals or at least listen to those around you. During dog walks, people sometimes go just wherever they want. When they meet other dogs, they start fighting. Or the dog runs away, and they don’t know what to do. Volunteering is cool, but you have to have common sense and responsibility. Of course, I invite everyone and try to get them involved, but it’s not just for fun or karma points. Once you come to a shelter, you have to be responsible for your actions.

“One post — and five people have already done something”: why talk about volunteering

Ivan: I invited a friend to the shelter in Makariv, and she asked me to make a post about it. She said: the more you show people how they can help, the more people might start doing it. You might not even know about it, but someone might think about it, someone might feed, someone might donate… I made this post just for her. And afterwards, three of my friends asked to join my next volunteering session, and two asked for the details on where to donate. One post — and five people have already done something. And those are just the ones I know. I used to think that good deeds, as they say, are done in silence. But now I’ve changed my mind: you need to tell, post and involve other people.

Anhelina: That’s how it was for me with Patron. I went there to help clean up. And I was so inspired by this shelter that I launched my collection for them. I raised funds and bought what was needed at that moment: medicines, cleaning supplies… When I came there, the owner took photos of me with those bags and posted it. She believed it was worth it. Please, show that you are volunteering. In this way, you inspire other people.

Mariia: None of my friends were involved in animal volunteering. But when I started posting stories from shelters, my friends started writing, “Oh, cool, let’s go together.” Not everyone imagines what needs to be done, and how it goes. Maybe they couldn’t dare because they didn’t know what exactly would happen there. And if a familiar person has already done it, it’s easier. Many of my friends wanted to join. When you volunteer, it’s important to talk about it.