People brought two tons of food in three days: how the Best Friends animal shelter, which was destroyed by enemy shelling, lives on

Animal volunteers live for the sake of animals. The help they provide is realized at the limit of their capabilities. However, Ukrainians do not forget about our smaller brothers. Anastasia Dainod, co-founder of the shelter and deputy editor-in-chief of UNN news agency, spoke about examples of such assistance and how the Best Friends shelter, which was almost completely destroyed by Russian shelling, is now living on the air of the national telethon.

In March 2022, the Best Friends animal shelter, located in the village of Fasova in the Kyiv region near Makariv, was destroyed by an enemy air strike.

"At that time, 260 cats and more than a hundred dogs died in the shelter. The whole shelter burned down. Fortunately, the people who worked at the shelter survived. But many animals were burned. The shelter was completely destroyed," Anastasia said. 

The shelter has now been partially restored and continues to expand. It is home to 900 dogs and 350 cats. According to Anastasia, the shelter accepts animals from all over Ukraine.

"There are a lot of stories when the military call and say: 'We are here in very bad conditions, we have a dog or a cat with us, please help us. And the heart develops. At this moment, our defenders think not only about themselves," says the animal volunteer.

The then partially restored shelter also took in animals affected by the explosion of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station. Anastasia Dainod said that people donated two tons of tail food to the shelter in "two packs" over three days.

"That's how cool Ukrainians are," says the volunteer. But help is needed all the time.

"Animal volunteers exist for the animals, they are at the limit of their capabilities, almost all volunteers pledge their money," said the co-founder of the Best Friends shelter. She also stated that shelters are overcrowded. And today, Best Friends is making every effort to expand so that it can shelter more animals in need.

In particular, the shelter is building enclosures for dogs - just one such enclosure costs 66 thousand hryvnias. In total, the shelter costs 17 thousand dollars a month to maintain. Information about the shelter's needs and details of how to help can be found on the page "Best Friends".

In addition to financial assistance, you can, for example, visit the shelter and walk an animal. The animals that are allowed to visit are vaccinated and adapted.

"If you want, you can come and just walk them. We have a shelter near the forest - you can even go into the forest with them. Families with children come to us and spend the whole day. And we let the children into the enclosure with the puppies. You can also get such furry therapy," says the animal volunteer.

If you are thinking of adopting an animal from a shelter, remember that it is a responsibility, but also a great happiness.

Anastasia Dainod came to the show with two of her pets, a dog named Bro and a red cat named Simba. According to the pet volunteer, both are "graduates" of the Best Friends shelter.

"Here is Bro, a wonderful dog, a true friend. He is 5 years old. Simbochka is only a year old. They live with me and I brought them to show you because I know that many people are afraid to adopt animals. You are afraid that they may turn out to be in a bad mood, that they may be poorly adapted, that they may develop concomitant diseases. Unfortunately, this is true, but look at the number of cool cases when you take a dog and it turns out to be your best friend and your support in such literally dark times in our country," the animal volunteer believes.

By her example, she demonstrates that breed and pedigree are not the main thing for love and joy. She also shows that even an animal that has been subjected to a lot of pain and suffering can give love and joy.

"He (Simba the cat - ed.) was beaten by people, his pelvis was broken, he was found by volunteers of our shelter, he was taken to the clinic, and then I saw him and took him home. His tail was amputated, so now he resembles a very purebred cat. As you can see from the example of the shelter cat, there is no need to be afraid of animals from the street, no need to be afraid to adopt animals from shelters," says Anastasia, showing an active and gentle red cat.

The volunteer says that you can choose an animal, for example, on the shelter's Instagram page and contact the administration. But you will have to answer a series of questions that will demonstrate your intentions and the level of responsibility you are willing to take for the animal. All tails in the shelter undergo a medical examination and veterinary treatment appropriate to their age and characteristics.