War does not override humanity. On the contrary, in wartime, the need for it is even more essential than in times of peace, we say, paraphrasing a famous writer’s words! Humanity entails kind stories about empathy for others and caring about them even though you live thousands of kilometers away.
Humanity is finding the inner strength to help others in times of incredible trials. Humanity means understanding every life’s preciousness, whether it is small, feathered, scaly, or has whiskers, paws, and tails.
Start
Step 1. Food for the “tails”
They experienced all the same horrors of the last two months together with residents of a city under siege — shelling and bombing, cold and hunger.
“People understood that it was war and were seeking shelter, but animals did not comprehend this and became the first victims”, Chernihiv animal volunteers tell us.
These volunteers provided aid to their four-legged friends even under fire and continue to care for them now.
“The most difficult task is to find shelter and food for dogs and cats that have become homeless due to the war. It requires a lot of effort and money”.
Philanthropists from the USA decided to help homeless animals in Chernihiv by donating money for food for the now-homeless animals. This money allowed the Goodacity volunteers to buy almost 1,000 kilograms of dog food and 120 kilograms of cat food and hand it all over to animal volunteers in Chernihiv.
Step 2. Maryna, “She who saves”
“Animals need our care and help! And they thank us with their kindness and loyalty,” Maryna Postol, a well-known animal volunteer from Chernihiv, is convinced. It was she who received the pet food purchased by the volunteers from Goodacity as she knows the needs and problems of the city’s homeless animals like no one else.
Maryna is a unique animal volunteer! Even before the war, she had almost a hundred dogs living at her home. “I was always concerned about the problems of our furry friends, but still, I could not say that I planned to have so many “tails” at home,” the woman laughs. “I wanted to have one pet to give all my love to. So that’s how it had been at first. And suddenly, I found myself the happy guardian of a hundred dogs and a dozen cats!”.
Thank you, Maryna, for your kind and caring heart!
“Among the animals that live at my house, many dogs are disabled or old, spending the last period of their lives with me; and those who were simply thrown out on the street or brought to be put to sleep… I gave them a chance for life! Sometimes people ask me: “How do you manage all of them – where do you find the strength and the money to do so?” And I answer, “The most important thing is that I have enough love, even for a hundred dogs that live at my home!”. “I am the head of the Zooshans public organization. So, besides my home pets, I take care of many homeless dogs and cats in Chernihiv with our volunteers; we neuter and vaccinate them and find homes for stray and abandoned animals. Currently, our greatest concern is the animals that lost their owners and homes due to the war”.
Maryna traveled around the city, risking her life under the Russian shellings, to feed homeless dogs and care for wounded animals injured by the explosions”.
“Animals have not only physical injuries, but they also have the same mental wounds as we do, and that needs to be treated with love and understanding. I dream about a new home and a loving human heart for all of them,” the woman says.
“There are a lot of homeless animals in Chernihiv today, and we simply cannot afford to buy food for all of them every day. Therefore, I am thrilled to receive help from caring people and be able to feed such a large number of homeless dogs and cats.
After receiving the food, we gather animal volunteers and distribute the food among them so that they each feed their “wards” within their districts.
By the way, I’ve noticed that many more people have been willing to take care of homeless animals in the last three months. Just imagine how difficult people’s lives are right now, during the war, and they are looking for time and opportunities to feed cats and dogs! How deep the souls and the hearts of our people are!”.
Step 3. Ms. Nadiya, "She who gives hope"
Ms. Nadiya from Chernihiv, hitting her eighties, “saddles” her irreplaceable Suzy (that’s what the woman calls her Suzuki scooter) every day and goes around the whole city and suburbs delivering food to her furry friends. “Every dog in Chernihiv knows me,” the woman laughs.
“I ride every day, distributing food to them, and they immediately run out to meet me as soon as they hear the engine noise.
Even in the most challenging and darkest times, when the city was brutally shelled, I tried to find a moment in the pause between the bombings and get out there to feed the cats and dogs, to see if some of them needed help.
I came under fire twice myself, and my scooter was damaged. So, although I have passed through many misfortunes, I didn’t stop helping animals because I simply could not have it any other way!” Ms. Nadiya says. “They can’t take care of themselves, they can’t ask for help, they are speechless, but if you could see their eyes… those are the eyes of once domestic, but now helpless, unadapted, abandoned pets”.
Thank you for your big and kind heart!
“Currently, together with other caring volunteers, we feed more than 200 dogs and cats — we cook them 7 or 8 buckets of mush every day,” the woman says. “I am grateful to our benefactors for the food for the animals! We were over the moon with happiness receiving it, as now our dogs and cats would not go hungry!
It was enough to share with the other animal volunteers of the city, as we have many people with big hearts touched by the troubles of our furry friends.
I have been helping homeless animals for more than 14 years now, and I have never seen such a difficult situation. Everyone suffers, both people and animals, and we cannot be indifferent to anyone’s pain.
Our Chernihiv has suffered a lot from the shelling: the blood runs cold in my veins when I drive around the city and see bombed-out roads and destroyed homes. But when I feed my fluffy “wards” and see that others also care about them, it is such a relief… Animals help us, people, to remain humane even during the war. We save them, and they save us!”.
Finish
Time to sum it up
It is not just food for homeless animals; it is kindness and mercy that change the world! And this is not an exaggeration: when you save at least one animal, you change the whole world for that one animal.
Do you want to help when you see and animal in trouble? Join the Goodacity.Org Rescue Team today!
You can afford yourself the luxury of goodness!
Doing good is very simple!
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