Global Animal Rescue And Response

02/02/2025

For those of you who have been looking for an alternative to the "cone of shame." This should help you out.

We are Global Animal Rescue And Response, and helping those in need is what we do.

www.globalanimalrescueandresponse.org

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01/29/2025

The Faces From Kup'yansk (20 Dec 2024)

Animals Saved - 31
Animals Helped - 25
Food Distributed - 60kg
Owner Reunions - 2

This was our last day in the field on our last trip. We knew we had to get a lot done with not a lot of time to do it. We had planned on this being a shorter day with dinner in the evening and a final push to get everything packed up and ready to leave the following day. It did not end up that way as is the usual case, and we worked late into the night getting everything broken down and loaded up for our departure.

We had requests on both banks of the river, so we broke up into two teams again. Matt and Maksim from Порятунок тварин Харків / Animal rescue Kharkiv, Ukraine took the Nissan to the left bank where the roads are in much worse shape, and I took the van to the right side of the river alone directly into Kup'yansk. On arrival into Kup'yansk there was smoke rising on both sides of the river and the sound of artillery was ever present in the air. This day would take both teams to locations less than 1km from Russian positions.

Kup'yansk is systematically being worked daily by both artillery and drones on both sides of the Oskil River. At this time, the river is the only think keeping the Russians from retaking this city, which was liberated from Russian occupation by Ukrainian forces in September 2022. The city is a strategic hub and valued hold for both sides, with the citizens and animals caught in the middle in a no-win situation.

The first stop I made was to a house that had taken a direct hit from a heavy shell with animals in the yard. One dog was deaf from the blast, with another having a concussion as a result of the hit several days before. In the yard next door were at least half a dozen other dogs as well. Sadly, the babushka who lived there in the rubble refused to part with the dogs, and it was clear they were suffering the effects of shell shock from what they have been through. I had to move quickly to get the dogs and get away, as an Orlan-10 reconnaissance drone had been flying overhead for the past twenty minutes.

The next pick ups were from the military at various positions and houses they took safe refuge at within the heart of the city. All around them were the signs of shell hits, broken homes, and shattered lives. And in the middle of it all were the people who refused to leave. And with them were oftentimes the animals who could not leave.

One woman had a yard and home full of dogs and cats, but only would allow me to evacuate three puppies. The rest were forced to stay behind to await their fate at the hands of those who thrive on indiscriminate and intentional destruction of anything tangible, including life. This is the hardest part of evacuating animals. The part of knowing that there is space in the van and safety at the end of the drive for these animals. But we cannot force or coerce these people into giving these animals up. All we can do on both sides of the river and in whatever vehicle we drive is to tell them that we are ready to help them when they need it.

As the day went on the shelling increased in the city itself where I was working. Matt and Maksim reported that it got quiet on the left bank and it was not a tension filled end of the day. We met up about 45 minutes outside of Kup'yansk near the final point of the day to transfer their animals from the truck to the van. Then we grabbed lunch at a roadside stand and just took it all in as to why people either refuse to leave or refuse to let the animals who need help to leave.

We will be back in Ukraine again soon, and we will most likely visit several of the same addresses we visited this trip. That just seems to be the way things are going towards the frontlines. It is a dynamic entity the way the lines of the battlefield move back and forth. But one thing that is static and that does not change is the way we have to deal with every city, town, village, or settlement that is placed under threat of Russian occupation.......

Request. Reply. Respond. Risk. Rescue. Repeat.

We are Global Animal Rescue And Response, and helping those in need is what we do.

www.globalanimalrescueandresponse.org

PayPal- [email protected]

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01/28/2025

One of the faces from Kup'yansk you'll see later this evening in our newest video....

We are Global Animal Rescue And Response, and helping those in need is what we do.

www.globalanimalrescueandresponse.org

PayPal- [email protected]

PrivatBank- 4149609051947721

Venmo- garrdonations

01/28/2025

New Evacuated Faces Video Coming Today!!!

01/27/2025

Flights To 🇺🇦 Are Booked!!!

01/15/2025

We Will Have Additional Posts From Our Most Recent Ukraine Trip Starting Again Soon. We Are Still Mourning The Loss Of

01/09/2025

Sweet Angel is back in the hospital tonight. We will have a more in depth update on her tomorrow. But we are now in another almost 2,000PLN, or $500USD for her updated care.

https://gofund.me/a0ef1c7c

We are Global Animal Rescue And Response and getting Angel through this successfully is what we are focused on.

www.globalanimalrescueandresponse.org

Angel's GoFundMe - https://gofund.me/a0ef1c7c

PayPal- [email protected]

PrivatBank- 4149609051947721

Venmo- garrdonations

01/05/2025

Evacuating The Rottweiler From Pokrovsk (18 December 2024)

Large dogs that are in enclosures always present their own challenges. But when you take a dog like a Rottweiler and add it into the mix, it takes challenging to another level. Then to top it off, you add the fact that the dog is traumatized by all the constant explosions from artillery, drones, CAB, and FAB hitting Pokrovsk around the clock. What that gives us is a dog who becomes extra territorial, scared, and afraid to leave the his enclosure which is the only safety he knows.

We had to wait on the owner to arrive since this was not a dog we were going to be able to just blindly handle without substantial risk. The dog kept retreating into its' house, which was not something we could get into without dismantling the entire front of the structure. He was visually irritated at us being in his yard and his body language reflected that. We had no choice but to wait for his owner to arrive at the house he was already supposed to be at when we arrived.

It is dangerously frustrating in situations like this. The entire city of Pokrovsk is under constant drone surveillance by the Russians. Sitting in the open does nothing but invite unwanted attention from the skies, which leads to unwanted visitors from the skies. We inform owners how long we will be to their location, and they say they will be there waiting. Here, we had to wait fifteen minutes for the owner to show up. Thankfully, we did not draw that unwanted attention which can kill you in these areas.

Once he was there it was just a matter of patience and timing for the owner to get the leash on the dog. It is a safe statement that the dog is traumatized from what he has been through in Pokrovsk. All he wanted was to go back to his enclosure once he was out and on the leash. We had to put the catch pole on him to assist in getting him into the back of the Nissan. The owner said the dog has completely changed in the past few months and he was not able to evacuate with him based on those changes.

You can see that the owner was quick to respond "YES" when asked if he was evacuating. The only reason he has not left until now was his responsibility to the dog. That seemed to be just bringing food for him every couple of days since there was a large amount of p**p in his enclosure. A quick tap on his watch and he indicated that he himself was evacuating immediately after we leave and that he had been waiting on us to arrive so he can go.

What a lot of people do not take into consideration is that we save a lot of human lives along with the animals. By evacuating his dog, he can now leave and will no longer be at risk in Pokrovsk. He likely has a family to join him elsewhere judging by the house he lived at. In many locations it is the same story. Once the animals are evacuated, the people will evacuate right behind them.

We only wish that many more could or would evacuate together......

We are Global Animal Rescue And Response, and helping those in need is what we do.

www.globalanimalrescueandresponse.org

Angel's GoFundMe - https://gofund.me/a0ef1c7c

PayPal- [email protected]

PrivatBank- 4149609051947721

Venmo- garrdonations

01/05/2025

New Rescue Video Coming Tomorrow!!!!!

01/04/2025

Wog Dog Visit (21 December 2024)

While preparing to come home after a very productive trip, we had to take a trip to Kyiv to drop off some puppies. And of course, we could NOT pass our favorite gas station dog without stopping to visit him. Thankfully, we still had some light left when we stopped, unlike the last couple of times we visited him.

He was absolutely in a mid-afternoon slumber when we showed up since he took a few seconds to come out before giving a BIIIIIIIIIIIG stretch and smiling. We love seeing this boy every time we come through. His smile puts a smile on our face and he gives us just as much joy as we hope we give him.

He is getting ready for the winter as most of the animals in Ukraine are. His coat has doubled up and is very thick now. He sleeps more and is less active to conserve energy for special visitors like the white rescue van. And most importantly, he has several blankets in his Wog Dog House to keep him warm. Another nice thing is the place they have him at the Wog. He is nestled in a nook with the LPG tank on one side and the work shed on the other. And directly in front of him to the north is the Wog itself. So the opening to his Wog Dog House is nicely blocking most of the wind from the North, East, and West. The South side is the back of his house, so he is nicely protected.

Unfortunately, we missed one stop this trip passing by the Wog that it was just too late and we were too behind to be able to stop and see him. So this would be our last visit to be able to spend time with him. before our next trip in February. We look forward to seeing our friend when we return. I think it is going to be time on that trip to speak to the station manager as well and offer to place him into a home to live out his days with a family.

Would any of you like to give Wog Dog the home he deserves?

We are Global Animal Rescue And Response, and helping those in need is what we do.

www.globalanimalrescueandresponse.org

Angel's GoFundMe - https://gofund.me/a0ef1c7c

PayPal- [email protected]

PrivatBank- 4149609051947721

Venmo- garrdonations

01/01/2025

Animals Saved - 40
Animals Helped - 10
Food Distributed - 40kg
Leashes Recovered - 1

The Faces From Pokrovsk (18 December 2024)

18 December started out rather nicely. It was cold outside but thankfully we did not have snow or rain. This was also going to be an opening for the drone activity we have learned to fear in the Donbas. The rain and snow normally keeps the drones from flying, as does high winds. We did have high winds when we left Kharkiv, but were unsure what they would be like in Pokrovsk four hours later when we arrived.

We split up into two teams again. Matt and Maks (M&Ms) were in the Nissan, and I was in the van solo. The plan was to split up for the first part of the trip and then go jointly on the second part. The van would work the outskirts of Pokrovsk in the morning, while M&Ms went into Pokrovsk where they van would certainly be destroyed if we took it there.

My first stop was to pick up fifteen puppies and three dogs. That stop took almost 45 minutes because we had to catch the puppies, and only one of the momma dogs was willing to be caught. M&Ms went to the southernmost part of Pokrovsk to extract Skype, an Alabai who was in an area only a few hundred meters from the Russian advances. I will get his story posted soon. I prepared sedation drugs for them to use on Skype, as it had been reported that he was a guard dog and refusing to leave his yard. The person caring for him had evacuated a few days previously, which left him alone with no food or water unless we went to get him.

After we had the first half of the requests completed, we came together just north of Pokrovsk to unload the Nissan and transfer the animals to the van. We then headed back into Pokrovsk as the FPV and artillery activity was intensifying in the city. All around us, artillery was coming into the city, and the animals we were trying to evacuate were scared to death. Owners who were packed and ready to evacuate were standing by for our arrival so they could leave immediately after we took their animals. Reunions were already be planned, but getting them out was the challenge.

We also had to go to another house to rescue a left behind member of the team. A valued member that has been with us since the war began, and who has participated in thousands of rescues throughout Ukraine. Maks was bitten on 10 December when we were in Pokrovsk, and in the process of getting the bite treated, a pink leash was left behind. After more than a week of sitting on a bench waiting with uncertainty, the reunion took place. Unfortunately, the woman who we evacuated 6 dogs from and who said she was leaving did not leave. She had collected herself even more dogs and was still there. It is just a matter of time before the call comes in that she wants to leave and cannot with her animals. Then we will risk our lives to evacuate the animals and she will still not leave. Then the process will start all over again.

We finished the day at a reasonable hour and were able to get out of Pokrovsk before full darkness set in at 1600. We had a few stops to make on the way back to Kharkiv and arrived back before midnight to unload our precious cargo of innocent lives with Порятунок тварин Харків / Animal rescue Kharkiv, Ukraine. A few hours later, we were in ready for bed after a relatively short 19 hour Donbas day.

We will continue to travel dangerous roads and go into harms way 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

Angel's GoFundMe - https://gofund.me/a0ef1c7c

PayPal- [email protected]

PrivatBank- 4149609051947721

Venmo- garrdonations

12/31/2024

Angel Update With New Bills. (30 December 2024)

Angel is back with her foster tonight for the time being, but we still don't have the answers we need. She went today for both MRI and CT scans of her rear end to hopefully find out what is going on with her, and how best it can be fixed. Unfortunately, the answer is not straightforward. Somehow, her urethra is being pinched from inflammation and she cannot properly urinate. Her catheter is still inserted and will be coming out at the end of this week.

Her bowels and colon are filling full and for some reason, she is not able to go to the bathroom and properly release her stool. They say she has a relaxed a**s, which means that she does not have proper sphincter control. She tries to p**p, but her muscles are just not pushing out what is backed up on the inside. And when she lays down it just falls out without her knowing according to her foster.

The good news is that she had proper renal function for the first day or so before she started backing up her urine. She is now on antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, and pain medicine to ease her discomfort. Because of her current situation with the infection and inflammation, any thoughts of surgical revision of her injuries has to wait. We are optimistic that after the med protocol she will be able to urinate normally again.

As far as her p**p function, it is hopefully temporary as well. We are hoping she will be able to go to the bathroom normally again in a few weeks after the course has had a chance to do what they are intended to do. At that point, she will go back to the specialists to discuss the surgical revision and corrective repairs to the injuries sustained from being hit by the car.

Today we spent another almost $750 USD on Angel. This is money that is coming out of the pockets of our board at this point in time. We really need your help on her bills so we can get her through this with the best outcome possible. We are not going to give up on Angel, and we hope you don't give up on her either.......

We are here for you, Angel!!!!!!

You can find her fundraising page at https://gofund.me/a0ef1c7c

We are Global Animal Rescue And Response and getting Angel through this successfully is what we are focused on.

www.globalanimalrescueandresponse.org

Angel's GoFundMe - https://gofund.me/a0ef1c7c

PayPal- [email protected]

PrivatBank- 4149609051947721

Venmo- garrdonations

12/28/2024

Please Help Us Raise The Money For Angel's Surgeries!!

Angel's fundraising campaign has passed review and is now live. We really need help on this one. We know her bills are going to be several thousand dollars before we even get to surgery. This is the time when we REALLY need everyone to come together for her cause.

She has been through so much over the past few months after being hit by the car in Kramatorsk. She is currently in Gdansk, Poland and has been admitted to 24/7 care. Her surgery will be this week after both a MRI and CT scan are performed on Monday 30 Dec 2024.

PLEASE share her fundraiser and please donate even a cup of coffee or two into it. With as many followers as we have, we should be able to raise the money to cover her bills.

You can find her fundraising page at https://gofund.me/a0ef1c7c

We are Global Animal Rescue And Response and getting Angel through this successfully is what we are focused on.

www.globalanimalrescueandresponse.org

GoFundMe - https://gofund.me/a0ef1c7c

PayPal- [email protected]

PrivatBank- 4149609051947721

Venmo- garrdonations

We are in urgent need to raise funds for emergency surgery fo… Global Animal Rescue And Response needs your support for Fundraiser For Emergency Surgery For Angel From Ukraine

12/28/2024

URGENT FUNDRAISER FOR ANGEL!!!!

Total Receipts Already 2,476.66 PLN. It is going to keep climbing. Another 3,000PLN will be due Monday.

To begin with, we know Angel had a lot of issues after being hit by the car in Kramatorsk. Порятунок тварин Харків / Animal rescue Kharkiv, Ukraine did the initial surgery to get her walking again, but she needs more specialty care that just isn't available now in Ukraine with the war going on. We are thankful for what ARK did for her, so please don't think there was any lack of care on their part.

We have had a major setback with Angel that is going to require additional surgeries before she will be ready to come to the US. We knew something was a bit off with the way her tail was sitting and how she was struggling with certain things such as going to the bathroom. Her foster took her to the vet and she was immediately admitted. Below is the report that he gave us which the vet told him, and you can see her x-ray below.

"So now less positive news.
We were super lucky we've got an appointment today for Angel. I just came back home from the vet where I've been since 2pm (it's 11pm now). I didn't mention that here, as you were less responsive at that point, so I had a conversation with Simone as needed some clarification about her excretion.

So since she came to us, she wasn't able to properly p**p. When outside, she tried without luck, then back home she laid down, and while resting, she excreted without any control. Whenever really smelly, we checked under her tail, and there was a ball of poo. Also, we've noticed she wasn't properly peeing as well. She drank normally but was not urinating enough, and her bladder had grown. So luckily we went to the vet today.

She had today a USG, RTG, blood tests, urine tests, etc.
She stays in the clinic overnight now as her bladder has been emptied, and she's been catheterized. So she's under observation now.
RTG showed many issues, which might be the reason for the damaged a**l sphincter and urethra. One of her hip joints wasn't properly assembled, and the broken part spikes into a sphincter. The whole pelvis is dislocated. L6/S1 is fractured, as well as a tail. Metal plated has not been effectively assembled. The prognosis is bad. The vet says she'll check if any specialist would be happy to undertake such a task of reoperating her. It won't guarantee anything anyway, as there is a possibility that nerves could have been damaged ultimately and even fixing her spine will not resolve her excration problems. Tomorrow morning I'm going there for a follow up how she's been with a catheter, discuss the urine/blood results and recommendations. Hopefully I'll have some better news tomorrow. I'll update you.

Also, I'll have to ask you to urgently reimburse our expenses as it's been a lot so far. I'll send you the receipts in a moment."

She has been taken to the 24/7 clinic for the weekend since she has a catheter. They are going to figure out how best to proceed to get her injuries repaired so she can continue her journey to the US.

This is going to be a long and expensive process. A GoFundMe will be set up once we have a better idea of the costs that are going to be coming.

We are Global Animal Rescue And Response and getting Angel through this is what we will focus on doing.

www.globalanimalrescueandresponse.org

GoFundMe - Coming Soon

PayPal- [email protected]

PrivatBank- 4149609051947721

Venmo- garrdonations

12/28/2024

Animals Saved - 31
Food Distributed - 80kg

The Faces From Pokrovsk (13 December 2024)

Friday The 13th (cue ominous music) started out dark, snowy, and cold. We were supposed to go to Kurakhove to get a wounded dog from soldiers who said the dog could not walk. We took two vehicles since the van would not be able to get to the frontlines without being destroyed. Without drone protection, it is a guarantee that a vehicle will be targeted.

We were going to meet up and facilitate the evacuation of the dog, then take the drive to Pokrovsk to close out requests before heading back to Kharkiv. Less than fifteen minutes away from the rally point, we received info that the Russians had initiated an assault on the positions where the wounded dog was, and they could not bring her. The unit had both killed and wounded of their own to deal with, and would not be able to hand her over until nighttime after they had dealt with their own casualties.

Matt and Maks diverted to Pokrovsk since they came in on another route than the van took. The van started the more than three hour journey over horrible roads and in places where it was completely exposed to FPV and artillery fire without cover or concealment. Avoiding the main highways added on an extra hour of time, with the van finally arriving into the area just as the sun was setting.

There was no communication with the other guys in Pokrovsk, and when it finally did come through, we decided it would be much less risky to do the transfer in Dobropillya. After dark, it is much easier to be seen from the air than to see what is up in the air. So the van moved up to our designated meeting point and about thirty minutes later, the Nissan arrived with Matt and Maks.

After about an hour in absolute freezing and wet conditions, with a good 15mph wind blowing, we had the animals all warming up in the van. The military had called and said they would bring the wounded dog out to a rally point (RP) and meet up. The guys started the three and a half hour trip to the RP, and the van started urgent journey to Kharkiv with a critically ill cat on board. An attempt was made to go to the clinic in Kramatorsk, but no one was there. We had no choice but to race against time to get to Kharkiv.

The cat made it to Kharkiv, and the guys took the wounded dog to an emergency vet in Dnipro who found her condition to be as bad as could be expected. There were spinal injuries and a few fractures, and the dog needed to be seen by a specialist for care that no one in Eastern Ukraine was capable of providing. As the clocked continued to tick for these animals, the van arrived back into Kharkiv and was unloaded around 0430. Matt and Maks arrived back around 0630 with the wounded dog, and they placed her in the van with the heater going so she would not be cold. She went to the clinic later that morning.

It was more than a 24 hour day for all of us that was filled with stress and uncertainty as plans continued to constantly shift. But as we always manage to do, we adapted to the change and overcame the challenges that were thrown at us. This is what occurs daily behind the scenes that none of you see. In the end, the work gets done and we all make it home safely.

Then we do it again the next day......

We are Global Animal Rescue And Response and helping those in need is what we do.

www.globalanimalrescueandresponse.org

GoFundMe - https://gofund.me/777c24d1

PayPal- [email protected]

PrivatBank- 4149609051947721

Venmo- garrdonations

12/26/2024

Animals Saved - 57
Animals Helped - 100
Food Distributed - 270kg

Faces From Pokrovsk (10 December 2024)

These faces have a lot to tell about what they have been through during the war. Sadly, we will never know what they have been through since they cannot actually tell us. One thing they all have in common now is that they will not have to live in the most dangerous city in Ukraine any more. They are safely out of Pokrovsk and do not have to worry about returning back there.

We could not take the van into Pokrovsk this trip at all. It was just too big a target with the way things are going. Looking at the first photo, you can see how close the Russians are to Pokrovsk. And throughout the day the constant sound of artillery landing around us was ever present. FPV drones are a constant threat, with travel on the main roads impossible as the danger level from the FPV is off the charts when driving on them. We get around through back streets and alleys while using buildings as visual shelter and avoiding open roads.

We had the Nissan belonging to Порятунок тварин Харків / Animal rescue Kharkiv, Ukraine along with a truck from a French team of journalists who wanted to see Pokrovsk and document the city's residents who chose to stay behind. In exchange for being able to use their truck as a second vehicle for crates and space, they were able to have the access into the city and to talk to people they would never have had the chance to. It was a win-win situation for everyone.

We evacuated 57 faces from Pokrovsk. And we helped another 100. Sadly, that means that 100 faces are still there and did not leave. Despite providing assistance for those animals who are still there with the 270kg of food we passed out, we are still not removing them from the situation. And that does not incentivize the caretakers to evacuate either. It is as if they are looking for a reason to stay and to not actually evacuate. They start collecting animals and then asking for help. And then it is us who has to risk our lives just to bring them food.

It is hard to bargain and reason with some of these folks. With zero emotion they will just point at an animal and say it will go or stay. As if they are playing God with that life in choosing who may live or potentially die. That is the hardest part of going to Pokrovsk. In one location, we took 6 dogs from a woman who said she wanted to evacuate and would now be leaving. But just a few days later we went back to the house since I left my leash there and saw just as many new dogs there as previously evacuated. Soon, another call will come in saying she wants to evacuate just so someone will come take the dogs away. She will not evacuate then, either.

All we can do is keep answering the calls that come and travel the most dangerous roads in Ukraine to do it. Right now there are only a handful of groups who are willing to go to the frontline areas and do evacuations. Our van has the capability to carry up to 100 animals to safety per day if space is managed correctly. We have already had 87 previously, and had space for another 15-20 puppies or kittens. We try to take advantage of that space every single day we work. An empty crate at the end of the day means there is a life that could have been saved, but was not. This is why we strive so much to fill every single crate in that van every single day we are out in the field.

We will continue to do everything in our power to help as many animals as we can in the future. This is what we have dedicated our focus and our resources to for the foreseeable future. And we are dedicated to filling that van each time we go out as long as light and safety situations allow us to keep working until we complete our daily goal........

Every. Single. Crate. Occupied.

We are Global Animal Rescue And Response and helping those in need is what we do.

www.globalanimalrescueandresponse.org

GoFundMe - https://gofund.me/777c24d1

PayPal- [email protected]

PrivatBank- 4149609051947721

Venmo- garrdonations