We had one full day left in Medyka and it was destined to be the most emotional for me.
Half the team reboxed items that we had arranged to be transported from a warehouse in Poland over into Ukraine. They would then be used by animal shelters and those with animals remaining in Ukraine. These items included veterinary first aid, flea/worm treatments, animal leads/collars and bags of feed. Naturewatch Foundation continues to link with representatives in Ukraine, so I knew this would get to the right places.
A British couple approached us who kindly delivered the aid to the warehouse a few miles down the road. They had helped wherever they could for weeks and I have so much respect for their level of humanity. They helped us massively and I’ll be forever grateful… also, I was at the stage where if I were to repack boxes again I would instantly crumble. Steph and Dan, thank you.
I had been made aware that there was a van of animals that was having difficulties crossing the border from Yavoriv, Ukraine to Medyka, Poland due to complexities with large numbers of animals in single transport.
With a bit of persuasion, and maybe the desire for a certain British woman to stop pestering the customs officers, they were allowed through. We had heard that one of the dogs was badly injured, so we braced ourselves for what we were about to see.
Prior to Naturewatch Foundation, I spent seven years with another animal welfare charity in the UK, investigating animal cruelty cases ranging from starved dogs, wildlife persecution and tortured cats.
I, perhaps naively, thought I was prepared for anything on this trip. The van finally crossed the border, and we flagged it into the car park, where we opened the doors and were faced with the reality of the suffering endured by those affected by war.
A street-type dog was in a dog crate, flat out with some of the most severe injuries I have ever seen. His front leg was degloved, with many layers of skin gone, exposing the thinnest layer of flesh that remained over the bone. He was clearly in agony, not far from giving up, with his eyes begging for his suffering to end.
It broke me, and once we’d arranged for him to receive emergency pain relief and transport to a specialist veterinary clinic, my emotional control came crashing down around me.
Dealing with the British public who had failed their animals was one thing, I could park my emotions for that as I placed the fault at their door. Suffering because of a war was something I couldn’t add any reasoning to. The sheer amount of suffering was beyond me or any charity and failing is not something I have ever been able to easily accept.
I felt like a failure – I couldn’t save or even help them all and it just came out in a storm of emotion. (For your peace of mind, the other dogs will be cared for until they’re rehomed within the EU.)
