• The Cave Canem foundation has launched a project to help the pets caught up in the war in Ukraine.
• And there are already an initial 10,000 euros to cover the initiative's costs.

In the context of the emergency in Ukraine, the Cave Canem foundation is working to provide a plan of concrete interventions on the ground, with an initial allocation of 10,000 euros. The project is aimed at offering support to animals housed in rescue shelters, to those that no longer have a home and find themselves wandering the streets torn apart by the conflict, or that have been taken in by kind-hearted people who did not want or were unable to leave the country, as well as to dogs and cats that have taken refuge in makeshift shelters with their families. Nor should we forget those who have been forced to flee and will likely seek shelter in other countries along with their animals, including Italy. A wide-ranging plan of interventions that will begin, in this way, to provide a first concrete form of help.

Assistance for pets in Ukraine

The first step will be to support associations and organisations working in the areas directly affected by the conflict. Efforts will also be made to assist those who take in the dogs and cats that will be welcomed in Italy or in other countries where partner organisations of the Cave Canem foundation operate.

"Faced with the conflict that is devastating Ukraine and irreparably marking the fate of people and animals alike, we are working to put together a plan of interventions aimed at offering support to the four-legged companions of those who have been forced to flee and will likely seek refuge in other countries, including Italy, as well as, of course, all the pets present on the soil of the nation at war," explains Adriana Possenti, president of the foundation.

"We are in contact with our international partners, with the authority for animal surveillance and protection in neighbouring Bulgaria – which could be affected by the arrival of animals in distress and in need of shelter –, with our trusted network of rescue shelters and with those operating in Italy," adds vice-president Federica Faiella.

"At this juncture, the contribution of Anastasiya Bondar, who represents the scientific directorate of our non-profit, is crucial. Anastasiya was born in Ukraine but has been living in Italy for around twenty years: thanks to her language skills and the help of friends and relatives on the ground, she has managed, from the very first stages of the emergency, to make contact with civilians, rescue facilities and pet product suppliers."

At the moment there is still no reliable information about what is happening in Ukraine and about the actual conditions of the domestic and farm animals caught up in the ongoing situation. What we can say is that initiatives such as that of the Cave Canem foundation offer a glimmer of hope for the future of our four-legged friends, who are destined, for better or worse, to share the fate and fortune of the people who live with them.