They Just Kept Coming With Animals - 24 Feb 2024
On our last trip we were in a race against time to get animals out from all across the frontline areas in the Donbas. The big focus for us was Avdiivka, which was overrun by the Russians while we were there. But near Mar'inka, there is another small city that was in the crosshairs of the Russians, and is currently 50% occupied by the Russians.
Krasnohorivka is its name.
We had just picked up a dog with Max and Ruslan from Порятунок тварин Харків / Animal rescue Kharkiv, Ukraine and about to head out when one of the residents approached us and asked us to evacuate the cats they were caring for. Since the cats were so skittish and fearful of everything but their caretakers, it was decided to let them get the cats into the box.
After we got the cats collected and into the van, another neighbor came out crying with her dog asking us to please take the dog to safety. Of course we said yes since there was still room in the van. After the recording stopped, there were even more people who came out of their homes asking us to take their animals so they could evacuate.
We still had other villages to go to so we had to draw a line sadly of how many we could take. We could have filled the van up multiple times in this area just from people wanting us to take their pets to safety so they can evacuate. We gave them the number to call and request evacuation and then had to make the very difficult decision to continue on knowing that more animals needed saved from this area.
Fortunately, the Russians have not moved this far into their city. But they are only a few blocks away as you can see by the map at the beginning of the video. But for these residents, they are too close for comfort and they want to get out of the area before the Russians do to their homes what they have done to so many other peaceful cities and villages in Ukraine.
All the animals were taken to Kharkiv where they were evaluated
Cluster Bombs, Aircraft, And One That Almost Got Away--- 1 Mar 2024
Cluster Bombs, Aircraft, And One That Almost Got Away--- 1 Mar 2024
Here is another new video for our @followers and @topfans. As all of you know, most of the last trip we were working at or near Avdiivka with Порятунок тварин Харків / Animal rescue Kharkiv, Ukraine. After the Russians formally took the city around 17 Feb, we started working ahead of the areas that the Russians were projecting to target next. One of those towns was Novoprokovs'ke, which is about 9km, or 5.5 miles, outside of Avdiivka. We were just there a few days earlier, but wanted to go back and see if we could get eyes on a couple of dogs reported to us by locals. The Russians were already stepping up their targeted campaign on the village, and locals were heading out as the military was retreating into it.
This day, we had been working our way out from the hot areas, and this was going to be one of our last stops as we were running out of space. When we came into the village, we could hear the artillery and cluster bombs hitting a few km away from where we were and getting closer. We did not immediately see the dogs we were looking for, but upon entering the yard they saw us. They were inquisitive at first but then became leery of these new people in the yard. We were able to pet the smaller one for a quick minute, but when she saw the leash come out, she backed away from it. Even a quick lunge was not fast enough to get her.
The larger dog played an elusive game with Max and we could tell they were nervous about something. The larger dog bit Max a few times as he was trying to get him, so I went to the van for the catch pole in case we needed it. As soon as I came into the gate I heard the aircraft overhead. There was no way of knowing what was going to fall from the sky where we were. The ground in this village was peppered with both artillery and aerial bomb craters very close to our location. And the van sitting outside in the open on a high point did not help, eit
Ray Video Update #1
Ray Video Update #1
This is the first of three video updates on Ray that were sent to us by Порятунок тварин Харків / Animal rescue Kharkiv, Ukraine. To say that we are pleased with how he is progressing is an understatement. He looks incredible and his demeanor has completely changed as well. Now gone is the skinny Alabai with ribs showing from hunger who we rescued at the end of November from deep in the Donbas near the advancing Russian forces.
When we first arrived to his abandoned house he was afraid and unsure. He approached out of curiosity, but then gave a few warning bites to say that it was his house and he doesn't know us. Out of precaution, he was walked out using the catch pole to best protect everyone involved.
Ray was scared and just trying to protect himself and his home. Now that he's out of the combat zone and away from the constant shelling, he's a totally different dog. He's becomes playful, happy, and eager to please. He's turned back into what we want for all the animals we evacuate from harms way.......
Full Of Life.
We need your help to continue saving the animals like Ray from the combat zones in Ukraine. Please consider making a tax deductible donation to GARR today. 100% off all donations goes towards mission costs, and all our rescuers are volunteers who receive no payment for their skills and for risking their lives for the animals.
We are Global Animal Rescue And Response and helping those in need is what we do
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If They Could All Be This Easy - 26 Feb 2024
If They Could All Be This Easy - 26 Feb 2024
Not every animal has to be chased through blown up homes or around rubble piles to catch and evacuate to safety. There is not always artillery in the air every time we show up at a location for animals. This was on 26 Feb 2024 after we were blown out of one village a mere 150-200 meters from Russian forces. We moved a few km west and started going yard to yard again looking for lives to save.
When we showed up we saw three dogs. The first two dogs were much easier than the third. As you can see by this sweet pup, they were ready to go. He was social, happy, and very glad to get some much needed attention. That leg just went as soon as that sweet spot was found. He was an easy load into the van along with his friend that you see in the video.
Unfortunately, this 40 seconds of video is all that was captured before the battery in the GoPro died. We heard seven beeps, which means the GoPro is shutting down. But it was unclear who's it was. Clearly it was mine by the darkness that follows at the sudden ending of the video.
In all, we spent close to 30 minutes at this one location to include sedating one dog and then dismantling a wall in order to get the sedated dog out from where she went to hide. But at the end of what was our most dangerous day of the trip and LOTS of very close calls from the Russians, we had two vans full of animals that were heading to new lives.
After dropping Serhi and Kyrylo off we headed back to Kharkiv to Порятунок тварин Харків / Animal rescue Kharkiv, Ukraine where we delivered the cats to the clinic and then took the dogs to the hippodrome. The following morning we found out that the dog we had to sedate at this location was pregnant with multiple puppies. So the amount of lives evacuated was actually higher. She will have her puppies before we return next month again to help more animals in need.
We are Global Animal Rescue And Response and helping those in need
Guess Who??!?!?!?!!?
GUESS WHO!?!?!?!??!?!??!
You have asked about him and wanted to see more of him. We adore him and promised to give y'all an update every time we visit him. He is a special boy who we met last year and cannot get enough of. And one we will go out of our way to see each time we pass his direction, even if it means turning around and taking a detour.
The One.....
The Only......
WOG DOG!!!!!!!!
On the drive out, it was a given that a stop would be made to see Wog Dog and check up on him. He has become a mandatory, must stop visit no matter what time of the day or night it is. Regardless of the time he is always happy to see the white rescue van pull up. This day, I would swear that he saw the van, recognized it, and started barking and bouncing. Maybe he was excited for food. But I believe he recognizes the van.
Here is the video as promised of the visit. I know it has been teased out for several weeks now that there was a Wog Dog sighting caught on video. Here is the evidence and as you can see, he is doing very well. He was so happy to give and receive love as you can see by the video. Although the video is 8 minutes long, the visit lasted more than half an hour with him before I sadly had to continue on. He was just as loving and playful the entire time as he was here on the video.
It has been asked why we do not take him to ARK and let them find him a home. Frankly, he does not need it. He is well fed, well cared for, loved very much by the folks at the gas station, and is not in any danger at all. In fact, the only reason he is on the chain when we are there is because it is busy and they do not want him getting hurt at all. He comes off his chain in the evenings and during slow times. And when the weather gets really nasty he is brought inside where it is warm and he can relax. So there is not a need to take him away from where he lives a life better than most dogs in Ukraine do.
Selfishly, I would LOVE to take him. I adore this boy and many of you do
The Painful Process Of Saying Goodbye Never Ends 3 Mar 2024
DONATIONS NEEDED!!!
The Painful Process Of Saying Goodbye Never Ends 3 Mar 2024
3 March was our last day working in the Avdiivka area as we wound down our trip. The Russians are steadily working their way North, South, and West from Avdiivka taking the villages that are easily within reach. The scramble to leave has hit a feverish pace is some areas, with families literally grabbing documents and a few cherished items to take with them before they are occupied. As always, the animals are stuck in the middle.
This family requested to have their German Shepherd evacuated so they could leave. The shelling, airstrikes, and threat of occupation have all now arrived to their village and people have a legitimate reason to worry. Sadly, as is so commonplace, they could not take this sweet boy with them where they are going. They had two choices they could make. The first was to just leave him behind as so many ^@*%(@*&@!!!! have done with the animal suffering in lonely silence through everything that will happen around it. Secondly, they could contact us to evacuate him and take him to a better life with hopefully a new home in a place away from the war. Thankfully, they opted for the second selfless choice, which was clearly painful for them.
He was very friendly and playful when we arrived. He was also very stressed as we could see by his constant pacing and anxious body language. He warmed up when he saw we were good people, and was happy to come to the white rescue van to leave. The family was already starting to cry as we were leading him out, and when they saw him loading up, that is when the painful reality set in for them. Everyone was crying and it appeared to hit the mom and daughter the hardest. The girl was buried in her mom's shoulder and could not even look our direction as we loaded him. You could see her shaking in anguish as she sobbed her agonizing tears into her mom's jacket. Mom was sobbing as well with a blank stare on her face with a painful numb
Our Last Rescue On Our Last Day Was Interesting 4 Mar 2024
Our last day in the field with Порятунок тварин Харків / Animal rescue Kharkiv, Ukraine was a shorter day than normal. But the day was also a very interesting one when it came to rescues and evacuations. We began the day with a dog that had a badly infected leg and ended up with 6 baby goats... No kidding!!
We had to buy these kids to get them to safety. We did not get the full story on how the woman ended up with the kids, but got enough to know she had a heart. We paid 600UAH, or $15.35USD for these 6 innocent lives. That comes out to 100UAH, or $2.56USD per life. That is evidently what she paid someone to keep them from going to a place that was going to do nothing but prepare them for slaughter.
All we knew when we arrived was there were going to be goats. We did not know how many or how big they were. The last time we were told we had goats to evacuate they ended up being bigger than the Alabai we had to evacuate from the same location. But this time we were lucky, they were cute, and it was a fun and interesting way to end what was a great 6 week trip.
The dog with the infected leg was taken to the clinic, and the other animals were taken to the Hippodrome. After we dropped them off, we had our nice final evening dinner with everyone, and prepared to get on the road the following morning.
We do have our GoFundMe up and it really is important that we are able to meet our fundraising requirements for the next trip. You can make a donation here on this post or on GoFundMe at https://gofund.me/777c24d1 . 100% of all donations go directly towards mission costs and are fully tax deductible. We hope you will share our official fundraiser and help us to achieve our goal of helping those in need when they need it the most.
We are Global Animal Rescue And Response and helping those in need is what we do.
www.globalanimalrescueandresponse.org
GoFundMe - https://gofund.me/777c24d1
Saving "That Face" 18 Feb 2024
Long Video-- Her Rescue Starts At Around 3 Minutes.
Here is the video for our @followers of the rescue of the sweet girl from Niu-York.
When Max and I started the day out at 0500, we knew it was going to be a long day. We had to go to both the Avdiivka and Bakhmut directions for evacuations. Both areas are hotbeds of activity for Russian artillery and ground campaigns, and the two most dangerous areas in Ukraine. As we made our way through the day both responding to requests and rescuing targets of opportunity, the shelling was intensifying. The Russians normally increase their firing rate as the day goes on, with predictable breaks for meals at certain times.
It was during one of these hopeful breaks that we worked our way through the Bakhmut region. We were focusing on Toretsk, Zahline, and Niu-York to work rapidly. The Russians have made incursions into both Zahline and Niu-York previously, and sit precariously close to Niu-York within a few hundred meters on both the Eastern and Southern flanks. They are increasing the pressure on this small city through targeted artillery and air campaigns in an effort to destroy and cause as much mental anguish on the people as they can.
When we arrived into Niu-York, we met with a woman who has taken it upon herself to help the animals left behind on her bicycle. She rides from street to street feeding both street dogs and pets who, for whatever reason, were left behind. One area we went to was just hit with both artillery and air strikes which wounded and killed multiple people. The scars on the landscape and buildings were still fresh, with windows not even being boarded up or covered yet. They are constantly hitting the area.
We were taken to a neighborhood that had been hit very hard. Multi-story apartment buildings were cut in half and reduced to rubble. Large bomb craters from air strikes were fresh in the ground along with other artillery impacts. Homes were ruined and debris wa
Fleeing From Avdiivka Airstrikes 26 Feb 2024
Fleeing From Avdiivka Airstrikes 26 Feb 2024
We have shared some of the close calls we have had during this trip. But our 26 Feb run into the outskirts of Avdiivka was by far our toughest day of the trip. After almost being taken out by Ukrainian forces who thought we were Russian infiltrators, to having a FPV drone hit 5cm from Sergei and not explode, this day was the one to remember.
When we go in with two vans, we park the white van and climb into the smaller and more agile van for grab and go rescues. We had just come from across the pond where we saved three animals that we walked more than 600m out. Then less than 5 minutes from leaving that point and getting to where the van was parked, they hit the exact spot we were just walking with heavy artillery.
While at the van we were moving a few animals around between both vans to open some space up. We also were able to identify and then catch several other animals to evacuate in the immediate area around the van. That is when the first impact came in just down the road which appeared to be a mortar fired from the center of Avdiivka. We knew we were on the clock and had to start working faster to get as many animals as we could loaded. After we had two or three more loaded up into our van, we heard the aircraft coming in. Before we knew it, the ground was rocked by two large explosions and we could feel the blast wave in the air.
It was clearly time to go. We started recording in the event that another strike came in or something happened to us on the way out. One bomb hit roughly 4 houses from where we were and the other landed just down the road before the bend to turn right. They were either 250kg or 500kg bombs as the SU-25 Frogfoot carries both. Judging by the detonation and blast properties, it was most likely 250kg.
It took a hot minute to get the white van out. At close to 8 meters long, it does not turn on a dime. The gate had to be held open to clear the turn swing, which took up some additional
Animals Saved - 23 (57 Total)
Animals Helped - 25
Food Distributed - 130kg
Race Against Time In The Donbas Around Avdiivka And Mar'inka. 3 Mar 2024
www.globalanimalrescueandresponse.org
Forest Follow Up!!! He's Ready For A Home
A Walking Tour Of The Renewing, Repairing, & Re-Birthing Feldman Ecopark
LONG VIDEO!!! 37 minute live feed
LONG VIDEO!!!!
Making A Dash For Our Lives 26 Feb 2024
After darting the first dog and being unsuccessful in getting the proper angle on several others, things started to heat up for us on the ground. We had already been unknowingly set for attack by the Ukrainians who thought we were Russian infiltrators. We had already been pestered by drones overhead and several FPV drones that had taken an interest in our activities. Hearing "screaming death" in the air is something that no one on the ground wants to experience.
As artillery started walking in closer to the area we were working in, we got actual verification from the Ukrainian forces that we were between 150-200 meters from Russian troops. It was not safe for us to be there any longer. We had to leave, and leave quickly. As artillery started getting even closer, we all agreed we needed to move now. Ruslan had the darted and now sedated dog with him, and it became a bounding process to work our way back the roughly 600 meters to where the van was hidden.
Along the way, we heard the drones overhead. We heard the artillery all around. We knew we were being watched and the Russians knew we only had one way out. At any point they could have decided to kill us and we were wide exposed for that action as we were forced to cross cratered roads and move predictably along the path of damaged gates and fences through the brush.
This literally was moving as if our lives depended on it. And it did depend on it. The timing to get out was a key factor of whether we did get out or not. When we stopped to assess our next move, we knew we had to just keep going. So go on we did. As difficult as it is to move with close to 35lbs of armor and gear on, we had no choice.
Some of you might wonder why we are spread out as we move and not moving as a group. Depending on the round, the average mortar or smaller (122mm) artillery shell has a blast radius of 15-30m. By staying separated and not bunched as a group, we minimize the
