Us, Our Pets and the w*r (2024)

[bunniefuu]

I couldn't even imagine myself

filming something about animals.

Sure, I'd filmed them during my trips,

but making a documentary

specifically dedicated to animals

Not even in my wildest dreams.

I think everything changed

after I saw these photos.

Photos of Ukrainians evacuating together

with their pets told the world

about our country better

than presentations or commercials.

There was something touching and humane

about these photos.

Something we urgently needed at that time.

Back then, we couldn't even imagine

the real scope

of this evacuation of animals.

VOLODYMYR VAKHITOV

We are talking about approximately

15 million people who evacuated.

Our data shows about two-thirds

of households owned at least one pet.

I think were talking about literally

millions of pets who changed their homes.

You know, Ive worked on many conflicts.

WAYNE JORDASH

INTERNATIONAL LAW SPECIALIST, UK

From Sierra Leone to Rwanda to Syria.

Pet evacuations

have not really crossed my radar

until the I saw it

in Ukraine for the first time.

And it was obviously part of people trying

to save themselves and their families.

For me, its undoubtedly

the biggest pet evacuation in history.

And I think that is really interesting

because it says something about Ukrainians

something about who they are as people.

It also says something

about their resistance,

in the sense that nobody is going

to be left behind, including their pets.

The most emotional moment

of this evacuation process for me

OLEKSANDR PERTSOVSKYI

UKRAINIAN RAILWAY

goes down to one photo of a little girl

with her dog at the Lviv railway station.

The entire world saw this photo,

and these photos of children and families

with their pets

impressed foreigners the most.

BENITO MARES

FILM DIRECTOR AND PHILANTHROPIST, USA

Ukrainians are true animal lovers.

I noticed that at the border.

MEGAN ROMANO

VOLUNTEER, USA

I saw a lady with a big German Shepherd

she was carrying across the border

because the dog was old and couldnt walk.

It really struck me that this country

seems to have a strong love for animals

and a high value for life.

PETJA PETROVA

VOLUNTEER, GERMANY

I was impressed by the number of people

who took their animal companions across.

There were literally children

just carrying their favourite animal.

That was a very different from

the many refugee crises we experienced,

many of the other people

fleeing conflicts.

And I was extremely happy

to see that Ukrainians

care so deeply

about their animal companions.

They flee 500-600 km from the front,

going on days and days of travel.

And they got cats in little containers

and dogs on leashes.

Thats a terrific effort!

And that was a nice surprise because

Ive been involved in Eastern Europe

and havent seen that

in Bulgaria or Romania.

If Sugar couldnt come,

I wouldnt have left.

There is no question there. She is family.

Youre making me emotional now,

just thinking about her

Yeah, shes family,

so I wouldnt leave family.

That was quick, wasnt it?

To go into tears.

Hey, Sugar.

US, OUR PETS, AND THE w*r

After the first days of evacuation,

it became clear

that many cats and dogs

ended up locked in the apartments.

So, volunteers started rescuing them.

- Shush! Quiet!

- Like this!

Hold it close!

This is how I met the ZooPatrol team,

which, prior to the full-scale invasion,

had nothing to do with animals

and produced video commercials instead.

When the w*r started,

people were in a state of shock,

and there were people who

they left earlier

they were my customers.

They called and said, "OK, we need

to fix this and that in the video."

And for me it was

Well, I couldn't understand how

one could think about work at this time.

DMYTRO REVNYUK

FOUNDER OF ZOOPATROL

My world came crashing down,

and suddenly, I realized,

"Damn, I have to do something good.

We will all die."

And I thought, "I will keep rescuing

these animals until the end."

KYIV

THE DOG HAS BEEN LOCKED IN FOR 15 DAYS

When you are depressed

and rescue an animal,

you take it in your arms,

and it begins to purr gratefully,

because it had spent three weeks there,

you are overwhelmed with emotions,

and all fear recedes.

I think it's the perfect therapy.

It becomes a drug.

You begin to like rescuing.

And if you didn't save anyone during

the day, that day was spent in vain.

Look at this handsome boy!

There are still landmines here.

Be careful, see?

Come on, lift like I taught you.

Just take it the way I taught!

Perfect.

Everyone thought that we were marauders,

and this is our cover story.

"Look what those thieves came up with."

It's because we had all those tools,

saws and all that

and it looked strange,

because everyone was leaving, escaping,

and we were some crazy people

trying to save a cat.

At first, we would take

a chisel and a hammer,

whatever was at hand,

and knock the door down.

And then we started

to knock out holes, like barbarians,

so that a thief could not get inside,

but the cat would be able to come to it,

and the neighbors could give him food.

Beautiful!

Many owners were shocked when we said,

"We will free the cat, but you will have

a meter-wide hole in the wall,

and we are not liable for that."

Many people agreed. It encouraged me.

I saw what people were willing

to do to save their animals.

We had to screw up about 50 doors

before we got to the point of evolution

and realized

that it is easier

to unscrew the lock holes,

insert the tube from the cooler,

and voila!

We could fill a two-liter water bottle,

and if there was a mat inside,

it would soak in.

We knew this, so we would

pour, say, six liters of water

and leave a note,

"We left six liters of water here.

Come on, drink now.

In our application form,

there was a question,

"Is the toilet lid open?"

That's how we prioritized our tasks.

If the toilet was closed,

we knew that we had to go there first,

because there is no access to water.

The animal can jump

and drink water from the toilet.

BUCHA

THE CAT HAS BEEN LOCKED IN FOR 42 DAYS

There he is.

- Damn it, he died.

- Died?

- Died? Really?

- No, he is breathing!

He's breathing! Take him!

Give him water! Water!

At least pour some water next to him.

- Damn, he's barely breathing.

- He cannot breathe. He is stiff.

It's rigor mortis. He is not alive.

Without food,

they would even eat cardboard.

They ate cardboard pasta boxes.

We would come and see this personally.

They were in terrible condition,

but I repeat: no animal died.

The first cat died in Bucha.

The occupiers did not allow anyone there,

so it was impossible to rescue anyone.

CHUBYNSKE

Due to w*r, not only cats and dogs,

but also wild animals needed rescue.

Little ones.

Nataliya Popova had been doing this

even before February 24.

You might have heard about her.

NATALIYA POPOVA

WILD ANIMALS RESCUE CENTER

We would rescue pets

from unscrupulous owners.

These wealthy people no longer know

how to show off.

They are trying to get a lion cub,

a tiger cub, a bear cub.

The animals grow into huge beasts,

locked in small cages.

Sometimes they are fed, sometimes not.

We saved animals in such situations.

Until recently, I had 16 big cats.

Even a zoo normally doesn't have

this many at once.

I started evacuating animals

from conflict zones.

When they find a lion,

a tiger, or someone else,

not every vet will agree to go there.

You cannot evacuate such animals

without anesthesia,

because they cannot

be loaded into the cage.

I started by traveling to conflict zones,

rescuing animals,

and transporting them to Europe.

Most of the time we don't even know

whose animals these are.

That is, we arrive, the military

escorts us to someone's house.

There is a small enclosure,

up to ten square meters,

and there sits a lion.

We grab him and run away from there.

I met Petja in summer 2022.

Someone told me about a foreign volunteer

who rescues animals from the frontline.

We made a trip to the east together.

DONETSK OBLASWe are very close to the frontline,

to the so-called ground zero.

And I think

I hope that if something happens,

it will minimize any damage or harm

we might be exposed to.

I know that there are different causes

and volunteers helping humans.

And I thought its also important

to have people who help animals there.

So, I decided to quit my job

and moved to Kyiv.

I just realized I wanted to dedicate

my time to these rescue operations.

When I have evacuations in Donbas,

I usually start at 5.30 or 6.00 am,

as I aim to be there at the safest time

for me to leave the area with the animals.

When you approach the actual ground zero,

you see the whole horizon covered

with smoke going into the sky.

IVANIVSKE

I am not really afraid when I do this job.

I think the satisfaction it gives me

is way greater than the feeling of fear.

The fact I can help is just way bigger

than the potential fear or danger I feel.

As a matter of fact,

I dont think I feel fear anymore.

This is still quiet.

Okay.

Are you Natalia?

Is Maria your daughter? Yes?

We brought dog food from UAnimals.

I met some people

in the village of Ivanivske,

where we dropped food for a family

that takes care of 50 dogs.

Many of those dogs actually

came to them after the w*r started

because they were left alone.

And shed just accept any dog

seeking shelter in her house.

Hungry dogs come by themselves.

Some stay, but many don't.

They look for their owners, they move on.

We do not chase them away,

but they leave.

They are afraid.

They go further away from the shots.

As people experience trauma and are

emotionally affected by this conflict,

so do the animals.

But also, similar to people,

animals learn to live with it

and realize, in their way,

whats going on.

They realize theyre gonna be fine again.

They realize theyre not alone,

that theyre with this lady.

Because she had nothing to feed them with,

she used to cook porridge

in a very big device she showed us.

She just distributed the food around,

throwing it in the yard,

and the doggies got so happy.

We dropped them some food, and then they

offered to escort us through a safer way.

Oh my God, I am so happy.

And I am so grateful to those guys

who actually put themselves

in danger to escort us to the dogs.

The military warned us not to use

the main road and entrance to the city.

What those men did,

first of all, they risked their lives

and went on a mission

that was none of their problems.

They escorted the evacuation car

through the fields,

and then we entered Bakhmut.

BAKHMUThe windows covered,

and most of the shops were closed.

There were not so many people around,

there were many destroyed buildings,

which shows yet again

that residential buildings are targeted.

Oh my God. f*cking hell.

Why?

Like, really, why?

Driving through Bakhmut was sad, in a way.

At the same time,

I am happy that this city is fighting

and has not given up for a long time.

Wait, wait.

Yes, it is a mechanism.

She is small. She is black, like this.

- Yes, it can be done. Of course.

- Bring it.

- We fed her.

- Yes?

- Like this.

- This is a big cage for him.

- It's fine. Convenient.

- Let's go, I'll take the shepherd.

- Come here, little one.

- Come in, good girl.

Go hide. That's it.

The two dogs that we managed to evacuate,

especially one of them,

were very disturbed.

He didnt even drink water;

he was that stressed.

Thank you! Thank you very much.

- Take care!

- Thank you.

I dont feel scared.

I just feel this rush of motivation

and determination every time I come here.

So far, my guardian angel

has been protecting me.

I hope he stays on track.

Recently, we evacuated

a bear from Bakhmut.

This is just horrifying.

- In such conditions

- Yeah.

In fact, the shelling

was aimed right at us.

But the only mine aimed at us

did not explode.

Everything that flew exploded.

I was not afraid,

because when I saw the shaking bear,

who was in a terrible condition,

to say the least,

because who knows how long

he lived without water and food

My hands started shaking.

I was afraid to anaesthetise him.

Can you imagine coming all this way,

with so many people,

just to k*ll him with anesthesia?

Imagine my state of mind.

"WHITE ROCK" BEAR SHELTER

Hello.

First of all, my fear was overcome by

how do I put it correctly

by sympathy for these animals I saw.

At such moments, the fear

of a m*ssile strike somehow recedes.

- Who is speaking?

- This is a donkey.

- Is he saying something?

- Just asks for attention.

Everyone in this w*r

should do something to help.

What I can do is help animals.

As long as don't lose that feeling

extending a helping hand and so on,

we remain human.

HOSTOMEL

This story would be incomplete

without animal shelters.

Part of them ended up

under occupation after the invasion.

One of them was the Hostomel shelter.

ASYA SERPINSKA

SHELTER FOUNDER

Two things made Hostomel famous:

the Hostomel Airport

and Hostomel animal shelter.

The Hostomel Airport

is 3.5 km from the shelter,

and the Russian troops were here

on the second day of the invasion.

The Russian National Guard came here.

They started asking us

who we are and what we are doing here.

"May we stay at your premises?"

We said, "you can live in the kennels.

We have enough for everyone."

MAKSYM SKRYPNYK

EMPLOYEE

Russians blocked all the area

close to the shelter.

And we had no connection

with anybody else.

The Russians were all around.

They had a mortar battery here.

Helicopters and jets were flying

over the shelter, firing on the go.

Two armies fighting.

And we, with our dogs and cats,

were between them.

I calculated how many shells and missiles

were flying in the air.

Sometimes, it was 100-150 per hour.

The death was very close.

Our goal was to survive.

Save the animals, save the shelter,

save the people, and survive.

From the first minute, we understood

that we must continue the job

and care for the animals every day.

It was the general decision.

And the shelter's owner,

Asia Serpinska, said,

"We continue our job every day."

The mines were falling,

the ground was shaking.

There was a terrible roar.

Animals were going crazy.

They were trying to destroy the iron net

and run away.

So we opened all the cages,

and some animals ran away.

I am really happy

that we made such a decision

because, in this case, we could at least

guarantee that the dogs would survive,

even if something happened to us.

But we had the absolutely

opposite situation with another shelter,

the state shelter in Borodianka,

where things happened differently.

These are the gates

of the municipal shelter in Borodianka.

BORODIANKA

Before February 24,

425 dogs lived here.

A team of volunteers took care about them.

Well, hello.

Olena was one of them.

OLENA KOLESNYKOVA

VOLUNTEER

We would walk the animals

and help them socialize.

Some of these animals

have literally spent years in their cages.

The shelter employees themselves

would not socialize them.

They wouldn't walk them.

Nataliya Mazur was the director

of the clinic that hosted the shelter.

She was in Kyiv

at the beginning of the invasion.

NATALIYA MAZUR

DIRECTOR OF THE KYIV MUNICIPAL VET CLINIC

You know, I don't understand

how I personally coped with all this.

But I did.

On February 26,

I made a post on social media,

which are the most powerful

channel nowadays,

urging to evacuate the animals

from Borodianka.

At least one by one.

We could not organize

the evacuation quickly.

There were no instructions regarding

evacuation of people in these towns.

Then, enemy tanks entered Borodianka,

and no-one

could get to the shelter anymore.

They closed all kennels and cages

and ran away.

All the staff.

WELCOME

We realized that we'd lost the shelter.

We realized the dogs

were left by themselves.

They were simply left alone there,

locked in their cages,

without food and water.

Half of the dogs could have survived

if they had just opened the doors.

If we let the dogs out,

the animals

could've started biting people.

So I think not letting them out

was a right decision.

One person from Poland

wrote me and offered

to send me satellite images.

On those images, one could see

that the shelter was not damaged.

This made us happy,

because we thought they are still alive,

as long as the building wasn't hit.

Still, we couldn't go there.

I talked to the military every day.

They would say

"You're welcome. It's a one way ticket."

NASTYA ONILOV

VOLUNTEER

It was clear that going there

was sure death.

Even if I wanted to go there,

doing this and dying to no avail

didn't make any sense, unfortunately.

I realized that the animals

have less chances with every passing day.

I knew this.

Still, it was not worth a human life.

We had to wait and

this month was, in general,

my personal hell.

Which cat of the ones you've rescued

survived the longest time?

None have survived

for more than a month

Actually, no, it's not true.

Gloria the cat, commonly known as Shafa.

NASTYA LUNYOVA

GLORIA'S OWNER

I've had Gloria for 13 years now.

In 2010, my husband gave her to me.

I've just moved in with him.

We lived in the center of Borodianka

and our apartment complex

was situated

in the very center of Borodianka.

On February 27,

we went to visit our parents.

It was an ordinary day.

We just went to see our relatives.

The convoy of Russian equipment

was moving through Borodianka.

They said it was about 64 kilometers long.

We could not come back home anymore.

On March 2, at 8 am, they dropped

an aerial b*mb on the building.

An acquaintance wrote me,

"My condolences, Anastasiya Viktorivna.

Your house has been destroyed."

Gloria was at home, on the eight floor.

Until April 12, we still believed that,

in theory, she could have survived,

but then, someone finally got

into our apartment.

After April 12, we thought it's over.

There was no hope anymore.

On April 1, 2022,

Borodianka was deoccupied.

The volunteers came to the shelter

for the first time in the month.

When they went there,

they sent us a video.

The actual video begins

with the barking of dogs.

Alive!

Sanya, you need to take

food and feed them right away.

Sanya, let's take food and go.

We had three days for evacuation.

Our volunteers

with their own hands

Yeah.

With their own hands,

they removed the corpses of dogs.

The very dogs

they took care of for many years.

Volunteers collected their bodies

piece by piece.

Only Dakota and Shyldyk

survived from this enclosure.

From this one, only Kai, Laska and Lisa.

No one else. No one over there.

Mir and Wendy.

Two puppies survived,

one is being rehydrated.

From these, Eli died,

and the rest are alive.

Olivia ran away.

She runs around the shelter.

Of these,

only this frightened one remained.

Zara Zara is dead and so is Lucky.

Topaz survived, but he is almost not

Here, only this frightened one remained

They howled, I approached

absolutely everyone,

and that dog was the only one

who did not come close

We had a fight before the w*r.

She lived with other dogs

and I punished her

by putting her in a separate enclosure.

And after I approached her enclosure

She used to be a social dog,

now, she set in the corner.

I felt so guilty.

I castigated myself.

I promised that I'd never punish anyone

in this way again.

It's wrong because we don't know

what might happen.

I felt very sorry for her.

MAY 1

60 DAYS SINCE AFTER THE STRIKE

It was on May 1. We were filming

in Borodianka with Australian journalists.

We approached the infamous house

on the Central street.

Somewhere on the seventh floor,

I noticed some movement.

It could have been a curtain

or a cardboard box.

But I have experience with animals,

so I realized it was a living creature.

I saw a tail. It was not so fluffy

and cute anymore.

I said,

"Steven, there is an animal upstairs!"

He was like, "Katya, it's already May 1.

No one could have survived so long."

Indeed, we saw corpses of animals

while filming in this building.

The idea of someone surviving

was absolutely insane.

We received this application.

We came there as well.

I think: "How is this possible?

The cat has been on seventh floor

without water and food for 60 days."

We immediately turned

to the State Emergency Service.

Local rescuers did not have

a ladder long enough to save the animal.

So they called an entire team

of first responders from Irpin

who came and rescued the animal.

It was a real rescue mission.

This makes me incredibly proud

for our country and its people.

Oh lord, poor creature.

It's incredible.

Like the rest of the world,

I've seen this video of the rescue of this

tiny little cat from the 6th or 7th floor.

That's an incredible effort!

And it spoke volumes about what's

in the minds and hearts of Ukrainians.

After the rescue operation was over,

I went to the rescuers

and thanked them for dedicating their time

and saving an animal

among this destruction and horror.

They weren't even sure

whether she will survive,

as her condition was critical.

They answered me,

"We are the rescue service.

For us, every life matters."

At a moment like this,

you just break into tears.

Standing amid all this horror,

you see a beam of hope.

Come here, little one.

Come here!

I wanted to write at the facade

of my shelter:

"Save animals to stay human!"

A person who abandons an animal

would also abandon a child

or another human being.

Maybe I sound radical,

but I've seen countless examples of this.

Someone who is cruel to animals

is also cruel to humans.

MAY 2

NEXT DAY AFTER GLORIA'S RESCUE

On May 2, acquaintances wrote us,

"Look, this is Gloria."

There was just a photo of her

in Yevhen's hands.

She always has this angry look

when someone touches or disturbs her.

Her trademark look.

I recognized her at once.

I showed the photo to my husband,

and he agreed it's her.

She was in a terrible condition,

but we would always recognize our cat.

Sixty-five days have passed.

This is a real miracle, in my opinion.

There was absolutely no food,

not even items

or cardboard to chew on, nothing.

No water, nothing.

Only two floors to run on

despite the fact that she is 13 years old.

It was just the beginning

of a long recovery process.

She was in an oxygen chamber,

on a lot of medication.

They gave her a 40% chance of survival.

That is, the doctors told me,

"It is unlikely, because she is so old."

Everyone said,

"Shafa is holding up, and so are we."

She survived, and it was incredible.

It is somehow very helpful

for our mental state.

It gives us hope.

Some days we might feel less hopeful,

but such things definitely instill hope.

DNIPRO

Okay, wait a moment.

There they are.

I think both of them

had a rough few months.

I am really happy they're now

with a friend of mine, Maryna.

She has a dog shelter in Dnipro.

We prepared two enclosures at home.

We thought there would be eight of them.

Well, anyway.

I will take you there later.

Now we will bring the second one.

MARYNA BOLOHOVETS

"FRIEND" SHELTER

First of all, if Dnipro is lucky,

they are already saved.

They'll be fed, looked after, vaccinated,

sterilized and then we will look for home.

Sadly, not locally but abroad.

Before the w*r is over,

they won't be adopted locally.

3 MONTHS LATER

AMSTERDAM

THE NETHERLANDS

JOANNA VAN DEN BERG

ADOPTS DOGS IN THE NETHERLANDS

Did you recognize Bakhmut?

He has grown. He is not scared anymore.

He became a big man.

Did you recognize him?

- No.

- No?

He is a lovely boy.

He follows the rules.

Well, animal rules, you know.

He obeys. Only Masha is a bit naughty.

And she takes him everywhere

she wants to go.

That's a bit difficult.

Dogs are so much better with each other

than humans are.

He learns.

He looks at my dogs,

and they're not afraid,

so he's not afraid either

when they go outside.

I don't think he's scared any more.

I hope he isn't.

- Do you have photos?

- Yeah, I have videos.

- Of him? When you found him?

- Yeah.

- Can I see it?

- Yeah.

And this is the place? Bakhmut?

That's Bakhmut?

God.

Oh my God, so Oh, my Bakhmut.

It's terrible.

Unbelievable.

Oh my God.

Yeah, well

Thank you for showing me this.

I am glad he's with me now.

I think his past was horrible.

And the future? I try to find for him

The best future.

Yesterday, he fell in the river.

He was wet, and it was cold.

So when we came home,

I gave him food and a warm blanket.

I put it over him,

and for hours,

he stayed in the blanket and slept.

It was so

It was so nice to see

he likes the warm blanket.

In the Netherlands, dogs are family.

Dogs are in your heart.

They are like children.

I don't have children.

Or they can be

like a friend or girlfriend.

People foster children,

and that's what I do with dogs.

They need as much love as a child.

And care and a loving family,

as if they were kids.

Many people say kids are more important,

but every living creature

deserves a loving home.

Well, come on in. Come here.

Lyova, come here.

BRETZEL

LION FROM DONETSK OBLASHe's arrived only recently,

and he is still stressed.

It's something like

post-traumatic stress disorder.

In general, he should not react like that.

He is actually on sedatives.

He takes what foreign doctors

recommended me,

but he doesn't get better.

This lion came very recently

from Kramatorsk in Donetsk oblast,

and that is why he reacts like this.

When we came for him,

he was in a tiny cage,

about a quarter of this one.

And he was under bombardment

in this confined space,

which, of course, left a mark on him.

This is not aggression.

This is a form of fear.

I really hope that, when he gets

into the big, spacious enclosure,

the situation somehow normalizes.

KYIV

Shellings of Ukrainian cities

at the beginning of the invasion

had severe consequences for animals,

not only domestic ones,

but also those living

in spacious enclosures of the Kyiv Zoo.

MARYNA SHKVYRYA

CHIEF ZOOLOGISAll these noises of shelling

and bombing were the main stress factors.

And the animals were really stressed.

KYRYLO TRANTIN

DIRECTOR OF THE KYIV ZOO

After the shellings started,

all the animals would hide.

The lions spent the first week

in the basement.

We even trained the elephant

to enter the building in two minutes.

Our pelicans trampled all the eggs,

and we lost the possibility

of having new pelicans in spring.

One female lemur refused to feed the baby,

so our staff artificially fed him

and named him Bayraktar.

So now, we have a Bayraktar lemur.

Of course, we were worried about

our large fauna - elephants and giraffes.

When they're stressed, they can destroy

everything around and hurt themselves.

The elephant has been very stressed

during the first week.

Our employee was by his side

24/7 the entire week.

His condition was not normal,

so we gave him antidepressants.

They are different, but still the same,

and they suffer the same way we do,

and they are just as happy

to meet someone.

They are the same as us.

I think that for the first time,

it became visible how much

animals are affected by w*r conflicts.

I think that the care of Ukrainians

just showed everybody

that animals are individuals

who also experience fear,

they experience happiness

when they're saved and rescued.

They experience bonding and attachment

towards humans and other animals.

And it was something very beautiful

among all the horrible things happening.

A total of 222 dogs died in the shelter.

We managed to save 263.

MISHA

ONE OF THE SURVIVORS FROM BORODIANKA

Having learned that many animals survived,

our volunteers started messaging,

"If this or that dog is alive,

I'm taking it home."

"No, I'm taking her!"

"No, I will take her!"

I also had my favourite dog.

Her name is Burulka.

Someone called me and said,

"Lena, your Burulka is alive!"

She was in an awful condition,

but she was alive.

No words can describe this.

So she lives with me now.

Burulka, Burulya!

This may sound sad or cynical,

but these dogs would've never

found their homes

if it wasn't for the tragedy.

Unfortunately, this was the only way

they were able to leave that shelter.

Did you put some hay?

The lions that I had are now in Spain,

Belgium, the Netherlands,

Germany, the ones I know about,

also in South Africa, and even in America.

I follow them on Facebook

because I'm curious.

Many people send me photos, videos.

"Look, here is your lion."

And I don't recognize them at all,

because I saved so many during the w*r,

and I don't remember all of them.

They show me,

"Here is your lion rescued from Ukraine."

I realize it's probably him,

but I don't recognize him.

It turns out that our lions

also become emigrants.

Well, in fact, it's good for them because

the Ukrainian climate does not suit them.

This is an African animal.

That is, for the lions who left,

everything worked out.

One can even say that they were lucky.

6 MONTHS LATER

ALICANTE

SPAIN

From our experience here in Spain,

we saw that not only humans are refugees

of the w*r, but animals are refugees, too.

BELLIE DAY

DIRECTOR OF THE AAP SPAIN RESCUE CENTER

During this last year,

we received 11 lions from Ukraine.

There are a lot of animals

that need our help.

His name is Bretzel, and he is one of

the four lions who arrived from Ukraine.

All we know about Bretzel's story is

that he was kept, I would say, as a pet.

And he was abandoned.

We know that bombs fell near him,

and that's why he had wounds.

In the beginning, he was pretty aggressive

every time we came closer to him;

whenever someone came close to the box,

he acted aggressively.

When we saw him the first time,

he was full of injuries.

In his face,

he had like really big injuries.

He probably tried to escape somehow

and hit his face really hard.

In the beginning, he was responding really

poorly towards every movement and sound.

He was so annoyed by everything.

Right now, I think that Bretzel

is another lion, totally.

You can see how he behaves,

going around his enclosure,

observing his neighbors,

and how he behaves with us.

We can see that he is starting

to act like a normal lion

without all the stress

that he arrived with.

Sometimes, it is difficult to understand

that they are animals,

but their minds behave a bit ours

when they have traumatic scenarios.

I think they deserve a second chance

to have a normal,

calm and not stressful life.

In fact, this w*r helped many animals

to find a comfortable environment

and live their normal, natural lives,

as much as it is possible in captivity.

For example, the lions that are now

in South Africa live in enclosures,

four hectares each, on natural soil,

in their natural climate.

You can't think of anything better

as far as captivity is concerned.

Would you like to see

your lions in South Africa?

Of course. I think I will see them.

After the w*r ends, I will definitely go.

This is probably the first thing

I will do when the w*r is over.

What is better for the animals?

To evacuate or to stay in zoos?

Of course,

evacuation is the right decision

if you have such a possibility,

and sometimes, it happens.

For example, this year, one French zoo

was evacuated because of a forest fire.

The Kyiv Zoo decided

not to be evacuated

and it was a right decision

in our situation.

Proper preparation

requires at least two months.

There is a big chance

that they won't make it.

The animals can die from stress.

Evacuating animals is very difficult.

These are complex logistics.

Giraffe transportation is probably

one of the most difficult types

of animal transportation in general.

Nobody moves adult giraffes at all.

Clearly, because of their height.

An adult male can be

up to six meters tall.

These are already four and a half,

up to five meters.

It's all about logistics.

The height of a giraffe,

the height of car wheels,

the height of the transport cage.

This cargo cannot pass

under every wire or every bridge.

Even when these young giraffes

were being transported,

it was already more than two years ago,

they were preparing special logistics,

in order to drive through the city

with tram and trolleybus wires.

Of course, if you decide

to evacuate animals,

it can be a depressing factor for people,

because it's like admitting failure.

You cannot ensure the safety of the city.

Today, animals are safer here,

on the zoo premises,

than if we took them somewhere

and placed them in some other zoo.

For the first several weeks,

people called constantly,

and they offered help.

Some people from Kyiv were even ready

to take a crocodile into a bathroom,

but of course, we needed money.

We opened the system

to sell tickets online.

And people from different countries,

not only Ukraine, bought tickets.

People would buy tickets

to the zoo that wasn't working.

Tickets were bought in England,

America, Japan, and the Czech Republic.

Thanks to this help, the zoo is now alive,

and we have the opportunity

to feed animals, pay taxes,

care, clean, and do everything else.

Vasya, good boy!

His name is Vasya. He is a corn snake.

His owners evacuated and left him with us.

Yes, he is tame. Of course, he is tame.

He's a pet. More like a child, actually.

After all, he's just nine years old.

He used to live like a cat or a dog,

watching TV on the owner's lap.

And now they put him in a box,

and he sits here

because we don't have volunteers

who would come and calm the pets down.

On the first day,

in a small box at the zoo entrance,

we would find a python.

Or a parrot.

Or some kind of lizard.

I am showing you the animals

given away by their owners.

This is a veiled chameleon.

He is so angry. His name is Ihoryok.

Yes, handsome. Handsome man.

During this time,

we've sheltered 150 animals,

but those weren't dogs or cats.

They've brought us 11 monkeys.

Eleven turtles

Well, we've sheltered

about 450 animals here in the zoo.

This is a huge fish.

Her owners also gave her away

because they left.

This is a very expensive fish.

Given its size, it could cost seven,

eight, even ten thousand.

We have a couple of ponies

living here in the enclosure.

The little horses

were brought to us by our soldiers

from the village of Posad-Pokrovske:

"We will definitely come after the w*r

and take these animals.

Please, rescue them, help them for now."

That's what we are doing.

There were a lot of dogs in my home.

I think five or six hundred.

This is

I have, I believe, ten of these folders,

and these are all adopted dogs.

These are all the dogs from Ukraine,

all of them.

I put them in my home,

and I teach them to walk on the leash,

like the car, and like people.

That is, I think,

the main thing I live for.

As of today,

1161 dogs would like to be adopted.

I make an ad on special websites for dogs.

I take pictures of the dog;

I make a story.

And people have to pay, of course.

Never give a dog away for nothing,

for free.

And then people visit me

when they like to meet the dog.

And then we go for a walk,

talk to each other

and some people are okay.

And if they're not, I say, "Sorry,

you're not the right person for him."

And if they are, they can adopt him.

Personally, I adopted

eight dogs from Ukraine.

But I'd take ten dogs from Ukraine if

I had money and enough space. Or more.

Come here, my dear!

This is Lady. She is my favourite dog.

We've rescued her from Bucha.

Her eyes popped out because of explosions.

She was in great pain,

so the vets had to remove her eyes.

They couldn't save her eyes.

We've found her a family in the US.

Soon, she'll go

to the American senator in Washington.

We have a lot of animals

that need temporary homes

while we are looking

for a new family for them.

And I had this idee fixe:

I wanted them

to wait in decent conditions.

We've been working on this

for seven months.

We invited the celebrities, the press,

and people who also cannot live

without four-legged friends.

Hello!

And we also invited Gloria,

Shafa, and her whole family.

The cat Shafa, whom we rescued,

became our springboard

into the construction of this shelter.

I feel like Shafa built this shelter,

basically.

She became so famous

that many donations came in

just because of that story.

People saw it. It touched people.

And they said, "I want to help that cat."

They had so many donations that they said,

"Let's make a shelter."

Dima always wanted to make

a shelter for this community, for Irpin.

And so he made it happen.

Actually, we've rescued her,

and she continues rescuing

other homeless animals.

The w*r radically changed

the life of every Ukrainian.

Including mine.

It changed my life radically.

Before the w*r, I could not have thought

that I'd be involved in rescuing animals.

I might say, this is the meaning

of my entire life now.

I can confidently say that I will spend

the rest of my days

rescuing homeless animals.

I realized that this is my mission.

Sometimes we think we rescue animals,

but the animals are actually rescuing us.

PEOPLE

KATERYNIVKA

DONETSK OBLASThe dog has been following us

since yesterday.

Followed us down the street.

And we couldn't leave him on the street.

We took him in.

Gave him a warm welcome.

He slept next to me all night.

We hope he will stay with us.

My wife loves animals very much.

She says, "Don't you hurt anyone!

Not even a mouse - no one!

Take care of the dog,

take care of the cat."

So he will live with us.

We also have two cats.

This is Turtle. She is a mother.

She gave birth to four kittens

just three days ago.

There was an exclusive

jar of chicken stew.

We fed her right away.

We kept it for ourselves,

but then gave it to her.

I'm a tactile person,

so I always have to touch something.

The cat is very helpful.

My wife says this is a stress reliever.

This is heart-warming because animals

can always calm you down.

That is, even when you hear

barking of dogs in the distance,

it is very reassuring

that apart from these explosions,

this silence of the night, there is still

something living, and life continues.

It feels as if you are at home,

somewhere cozy and warm.

You feel care, you feel responsibility.

You feel like a human being

when there is someone to care for.

They came to us, so what can we do?

This is a living creature. An animal.

This is an animal, and we are people.

A symbiosis.

Viktor.

I'm listening.

- How is the situation?

- Everything OK here.

Plus.

Fire.

CHERNIHIV

My son wanted to have a dog

for a long time.

We chose a dog that would be practical

to take on a travel.

It doesn't take up a lot of space.

It is compact, so to speak.

Of course, we looked at small breeds.

With pedigree,

with all the accompanying documents,

because we planned

to take part in exhibitions.

We did not have time to achieve that,

because the w*r started.

MYKHAYLO ILYEV

LT.-COL., STATE EMERGENCY SERVICE

Since I'm constantly at work,

I didn't want to leave Patron at home,

so I always took him to work with me.

We used to joke about him with the guys

because he is an active dog

with a keen sense of smell.

Let's test it on different

types of expl*sives.

While working with various expl*sives,

we would make him smell them.

Sometimes, I would hide it somewhere

and let him find it.

PATRON

After our army drew the aggressor

out of Chernihiv oblast

we started actively working

together with Patron.

We searched

for the anti-tank mines and landmines.

He is an active participant of our team.

He even wears a fashionable vest.

This is a custom-made vest

with a carrying handle.

When we see tripwire,

I can just grab Patron

and take him to a safe place,

so that he doesn't trip.

He is lightweight,

and I can take him into the car,

where he won't occupy much space.

If it were a German shepherd

or some other breed,

someone should've stayed at work

to give a car seat to the dog.

Patron weighs 4.5 kilos.

For landmines, the trigger weight

is five kilos and above,

and for anti-tank mines - above 150 kilos.

Of course, if he steps on a mine,

it won't detonate.

This is his superpower,

almost like Superman.

Sappers are real heroes

for the local population,

because they risk their lives

away from the frontline.

We try to demine the territory

as fast as possible,

so that people can return to normal life.

Let's get to work.

Roger that.

I have my mom's phone.

8 MONTHS LATER

And there,

I have a photo of you with my dad.

ZAPORIZHZHYA

I used an app

that added a crown on your head,

and my dad was wearing a funny hat.

- I still have that photo.

- Show me.

Sure, if mom gives me her phone.

Excuse me for this question,

but I have to ask what happened to Artem.

Artem got a shrapnel wound.

The injury was critical.

ARTEM'S WIFE

He fought for his life for several days,

but he died in the intensive care.

Fang, will you sleep with me tonight?

All right.

The kids kept nagging:

dad, bring us a dog.

We fell in love right after we saw it.

He would constantly make videos

with the dog for us.

So we first became friends

in virtual reality.

They've spent almost a year together,

which is more

than we have seen him lately.

This is why we've decided

to take the dog.

At first, I wasn't sure

this is the same dog.

My husband always made photos

with the dog's teeth out,

and on this photo,

he looked so positive and smiling.

So I said, "He was supposed to be

a serious military dog

and this one is such a cutie."

I called Kateryna,

who is in charge of these animals,

and she confirmed it's him.

He is the only one

with such a Hollywood smile.

However, some family

already decided to adopt him.

I am grateful that they gave him to us.

Let me put his on.

Fang helps us a lot.

It was hard at first,

because it's a new family member, but now?

He actually takes up a lot of time.

We have to care for him, walk him at 6 am,

feed him with something tasty and so on.

This kills a lot of time

and distracts from sad thoughts

This is awesome.

Indeed, the dog is a real savior.

- Fang, let's go!

- This is a memory about my husband.

A recollection of the person he was,

of his humanity.

We have his photos and videos

where he addresses kids.

Children even quote some phrases

from those videos.

For instance, he said on the video,

"Will you sleep with me, Fang?"

When my daughter goes to bed,

she also says, "Will you sleep with me?"

His presence always reminds us

about our father and husband,

as if he is still with us.

He came home and brought the dog,

just as he promised.

He's in bed.

Are you sleepy still?

You were still sleepy.

We are in the basement

of our headquarters.

We were here during the airstrikes,

when they hit our city.

Right in this basement, in this place,

we sat with Patron and created

an Instagram account for him.

We took some pictures.

Ge was sitting in the pose of a rabbit.

And people liked it.

Then, we started taking photos and videos.

Patron!

Hello everyone!

Do you know who is here with you?

- Patron!

- Patron.

A grenade can be hidden

in an unexpected place.

It can be hidden between books,

in a closet etc.

You should keep a safe distance,

call our number 101,

after which the specialists will arrive.

To explain something

very complicated to a child,

such as how to behave with expl*sives,

you have to find the words and the form

for it to be appealing.

For that reason, we were thinking

about nominating a human firstly,

and then we shifted towards.

TETYANA KAZANZHY

UNICEF UKRAINE

"Who's the most famous here

after the president?"

And we understood it was a dog.

MURAT SHAKHIN

UNICEF UKRAINE (2021-2023)

It's important day because we have for

the first time in the history of UNICEF,

announcing good will ambassadog.

Globally, UNICEF has given this title

to David Beckham,

Orlando Bloom, Katy Perry,

Hugh Jackman, and Liam Neeson.

Now, among them,

there is Patron the Dog from Ukraine.

We are very proud of it.

When he is demining,

he is decreasing the risk of injury.

On the other hand, he's

teaching children what actions to follow

when they are in the minefield

or see suspicious objects.

We do remember wars

in Somalia and Ethiopia,

but I don't remember any kind of animal

even close to becoming so popular.

Or who has been used

to articulate the voices of society.

I guess

it's a real phenomenon of Ukrainians.

People give anthropomorphic traits

to pretty much everything around them.

For example, when I teach my course,

I usually ask,

"Do you have a robot vacuum cleaner?

A small one. How many of you gave

a name to your robot vacuum cleaner?"

Most of them say they did give the name

and thought it was unusual.

You also have a washer, a dryer,

a regular vacuum cleaner, and a toaster.

Which of them has a name?

None.

This is probably because people treat

this vacuum cleaner like a pet.

They look at it as something very human.

We all are influenced by someone.

This is the nature of humans,

and it's hard to withstand

and not become a victim of manipulation.

But you have to trust someone,

and there is no manipulation from the dog

because the dog is communicating

through its actions.

His behavior says only 100 percent

of what he's thinking about.

I would say phenomenon

is more or less there.

People look at those animals also

through the lens of them being humans.

They probably give

this Patron the Dog some human traits.

This is a dog that helps soldiers.

And the dog is a soldier itself.

We're creating a legend

of this w*r right now.

We are all writing this legend,

which will be told to millions of people

TETYANA KREMIN

ARTISto the next generations, and so on.

Animals are like the usual heroes

of the legends.

Someone had a dragon,

and we have a super dog, Patron.

Good boy. Such a handsome boy.

We were working in Izyum,

responding to calls from locals residents.

SERHIY LENYUK

SAPPER, STATE EMERGENCY SERVICE

There was a scatterable mine,

which was covered by sand.

This is why I've skipped it.

The detector wasn't working properly

because of a metal fence nearby.

So I've skipped it.

Since the start

of the full-scale invasion,

16 sappers of the SES

lost their limbs due to mine detonations.

The Patron Foundation,

which launched in the beginning of 2023,

helps them with prosthetics

and rehabilitation.

I still had half a foot,

but the doctors advised to remove it

and prepare for a full-fledged

prosthesis instead.

It will allow me to walk properly.

Patron will help as well.

In body and in spirit.

Patron has shown the public

who the sappers are.

Who are the sappers

in the State Emergency Service,

and how important their work

is nowadays.

Boxes with trotyl, saltpeter

Hello there. Isn't this the famous Patron?

- That's right.

- Really? Oh, I'm so happy!

I am glad that we have trainers of

such wonderful animals who save our lives.

Thank you.

Of course, when we are on duty,

we act as a single entity.

He is my partner and assistant,

who always helps me.

Sure, he is still a normal dog.

When we are off duty,

he enters the normal dog mode.

He also needs some time off

to relax and play,

to dash around on the grass,

fetch a stick, chew something, and so on.

Come on.

Still, still, still.

Wait, wait.

This is the second time in half a year

when we simply went on a walk in the city

to breathe some fresh air,

look at people relaxing

and eat something in peace.

Because we are always

in an extremely busy mode,

and we almost have no time

to go for a walk and live a calm,

normal life as before.

- Patron?

- Yes.

Is it Patron?

- Really?

- Yes!

For real?

My dream is that all of this

would be over soon,

and we could just return

to normal, calm life.

As of 2023, Patron the dog

has found around 500 expl*sive items.

His namesake foundation helped

90 injured sappers with recovery.

One of them was Serhiy Lenyuk,

who resumed his service after prosthetics.

Petja Petrova continues

to evacuate animals from the frontline.

She plans to open a rehabilitation center

for cats with PTSD in Kyiv soon.

Nataliya Mazur was fired.

The dog Burulka, rescued from Borodianka,

died six months after the filming.

Asya Serpinska retired at the age of 79.

Her granddaughter Maria

runs the shelter in Hostomel now.

Joanna continues helping Ukrainian dogs

find families in the Netherlands.

She's found a new home for Bakhmut,

who now lives in Rotterdam.

Since the beginning

of the full-scale invasion,

Nataliya Popova rescued 50 lions.

She is still in Ukraine, ready to start

a new evacuation at any moment.

Nastya, Ruslan, and Gloria live

in their relatives' house in Borodianka.

The remains of their house, where Gloria

spent 65 days without food or water,

were demolished in summer 2022.

Artem Demeniy was posthumously decorated

with 3rd degree medal of courage.

This film is dedicated to his memory.