Dinner is served at the Dnipro Shelter!
This month Sochi Dogs has been able to deliver food to feed the 270+ dogs at the shelter. Everyone looks very excited!
Working Together Across Two Coasts and Two Continents
Nearly two years ago, at the start of the war in Ukraine, we reached out to Transform A Street Dog, a nonprofit based in San Francisco that had been rescuing dogs in Ukraine for many years. Working together we knew we could help more dogs and people impacted by this horrible conflict. Over the last two years we’ve shared contacts, helped each other with supplies, strategized on the best transport routes, and generally have been there for one another.
One of the biggest challenges we’ve both faced is finding homes for dogs in Ukraine, so we decided to work together to help solve the problem. This January marks our biggest – our first rescue mission! Six dogs from Transform A Street Dog’s foster homes in Kyiv will be making their way to DC and NYC where Sochi Dogs will help find them homes. The first two dogs, Bouncy and Mira, just arrived and were greeted at the DC airport.
We always say, it takes a village to rescue dogs and we are so grateful to have the Transform A Street Dog Team as part of our village.
Trains, Automobiles, and Planes – the First Dnipro Shelter Rescues Arrive in the US
We kicked the new year off with a bang – our rescues from the Dnipro Shelter arrived in the US. Getting them here was no easy task. First, three volunteers with four dogs took a 20 hour train ride from Dnipro to Chelm Poland. The dogs were terrific passengers. On the train they looked out the window, said hello to fellow passengers, snacked, and of course, napped. Marly, the wisest of the crew, hopped up on the top bunk with the help of one of the volunteers and took in the scene from there.
Once they arrived in Chelm they were greeted by Anna and Josh from the Sochi Dogs team. They said good-bye (and thank you!) to the rescue team from Dnipro, went for a short stroll, and with no time to lose, got into the rental car for the next leg of the journey. The next three hours would be spent driving to a boarding facility in Warsaw. It was dark and with nothing to see out the window, everyone snoozed in the back seat. By the time they got to Warsaw it was close to 10 PM, everyone got a late dinner and settled in for the next couple days.
Since each flight only allows only a limited number of dogs, the group had to split up. Lemon and Marly flew with Josh, spending only a day in Warsaw, while Darcy and Arie hung back to fly the following day with Anna.
Obviously, when each group arrived at the airport early in the morning they were seasoned travelers. They mostly sat quietly in their crates waiting for the attendants to check them in, except for Darcy, she was upset to be in a crate when there were so many people around who could potentially give her pets and treats. After check-in they went through security and then on to the plane!
The Sochi Dogs team collected them in New Jersey where Lemon and Darcy already had family anxiously waiting for their arrival, while Marly and Arie settled into foster homes until their perfect match came along.
Staying Warm this Winter
Since we started collaborating with the Dnipro Shelter we knew this winter would be particularly difficult. The war has had a huge impact on the stray dog population in Ukraine. Anna, who runs the Dnipro Shelter says, “There are puppies everywhere. We just can’t keep up.” In addition to the puppies their rescue hotline is constantly getting calls about dogs whose owners have moved away or passed; or community dogs that no longer have a community to care for them.
On a call this fall, Anna said, “We want to help everyone but we just don’t have a place for them. Some shelter dogs already do not have a designated warm place to sleep, how can we take in new dogs?” The situation was dire, January is the coldest month in Ukraine and time was ticking to give these dogs a warm place to go at night and protect them from the cold and snow.
We asked Anna what could be done. They had the space, just no shelters. Together we were able to find a small Ukrainian company that builds dog houses and Sochi Dogs placed an order. The shipment arrived a few weeks later just before the shelter was blanketed with snow and temperatures fell to 20/5 degrees F.
The Dnipro volunteers assembled the dog houses and filled them with hay. It’s hard to describe how excited all the dogs got, they said. Before when it got cold all the dogs would crowd into the infirmary or kitchen making it difficult to get any work done and at the end of the day they had to go outside but now everyone is content in their houses. Some like to snuggle together or move around while others have claimed their favorite house and don’t like to share!
In addition to the houses, Sochi Dogs was also able to purchase a small trailer that is currently being assembled to house some of the new residents.
“I’m so grateful,” Anna says, “we are all so grateful. The small expansion has helped us a lot, we can say yes to more dogs.” At Sochi Dogs we are grateful too, we’re grateful for our community that makes this kind of work possible.
