According to statistics, as a result of the full-scale invasion, Ukraine entered the top ten countries with the largest number of homeless animals. According to the World Animal Association of Ukraine, at least 140 thousand dogs and cats needed help in 2023. Unfortunately, this number is constantly increasing.
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Along with this, the number of requests from shelters and volunteers who care for animals is increasing. First of all there is an acute need for fodder. It is important that it is of high quality and takes into account the needs of everyone: from kittens and puppies to adult animals undergoing treatment or following a special diet. Today, in cooperation with charitable foundations such requests are covered by Purina®.
Food for kittens in the Kherson region / Photo of “Happy Paw”
Enlisting the support of European colleagues, Ukrainian companies and charitable organizations, from the first day of the full-scale invasion until the beginning of March 2024 Purina® has donated more than 1 million kilograms of food to shelters and animal volunteers. Representatives of the brand note that the process of providing humanitarian aid is really difficult, but the result – happy and well-fed animals – is worth it.
How humanitarian aid is organized today, who coordinates each package, how many animals have already been fed and how to join the initiative, we tell in the article.
Find, deliver, feed
From the first days of the full-scale invasion, Purina® has scaled up volunteerism for the benefit of animals. The initiative was immediately picked up by the company’s international colleagues.
Colleagues from Europe immediately started contacting the Ukrainian Purina® team to find out if everyone is safe, what help is needed… Already in the first weeks, they transferred 30 thousand euros to the account of the “Happy Paw” BO for rescue animals, and then offered food. We immediately agreed, although we did not fully imagine how this process would be built, since none of the team had worked on humanitarian projects before,
– Purina® recalls.
Despite the lack of experience, it was possible to establish the process quite quickly. Already in 2022 several hundred tons of fodder arrived in Ukraine from various European countrieswhich have become a real salvation for many volunteers and shelters faced with a record number of hungry, abandoned and injured animals.
Animal shelters in the regions have their own warehouses where feed is unloaded / Photo Purina®, BO “Happy Paw”
Today, looking back on the first months of the full-scale invasion, it seems that such mutual support arose naturally and was a logical response to the challenges of the time. However, behind every important achievement was the titanic and consistent work of dedicated teams. AND the synergy of Purina®, the “Happy Paw” charity (also known as Happy Paw) and Nova Poshta clear proof of that.
The new post office as a logistics partner ensured smooth transportation and delivered fodder to more than 226,000 animalsfor whom such help is almost the only chance to survive.
How does it happen from the inside? BO “Happy Paw” analyzes the needs of Ukrainian shelters and animal volunteers. And, in order to avoid unscrupulous persons, he does it with special care. Fund representatives check documents, study history, or familiarize themselves with pages of potential recipients in social networks. This verification makes it possible to make sure that the aid will actually reach the animals and not into the hands of fraudsters.
Our task is to ensure that humanitarian food is distributed as efficiently as possible and that animals in need receive help. In each region, we have a base of volunteers and shelters with which we have been cooperating for many years. We check all new applications through personal conversations with our manager, photo and video verification of foster animals, feedback from other local volunteers,
– shared by Happy Paw managers, who are actually intermediaries between Purina® and homeless animals.
It takes time to process and check applications / Photo of “Happy Paw”
According to real requests and needs, “Happy Paw” compiles a list of aid recipients.
Based on these data, representatives Purina® negotiates with European colleagues about the necessary volumes and terms of allocation of assistance. In order for everything to come together, partners must analyze their own flows and confirm that they will join the current collection. Only after that, the transfer of parcels from abroad begins.
At this stage, many nuances need to be taken into account. For example, refuel trucks. In addition, load each package of fodder, take into account the norms of the current legislation regarding the delivery of rubber aid to Ukraine, and unload the received parcels. All these obligations are assumed by Purina®.
Next, Humanitarian New Post, which has been cooperating with charitable foundations and volunteer organizations since 2014, joins the process. For Purina® and Happy Paw Zoomission the company provided its humanitarian hub. This made it possible to constantly receive trucks from Europe and increase the amount of aid. During 5 months of cooperation, Humanitarian New Post at its own expense accepted, unloaded and delivered 38 trucks with about 654 tons of food for animals to shelters.
Warehouses of animal shelters in the regions are an important component of general logistics / Photo Purina®, BO “Happy Paw”
Next is the case of the “Happy Paw” charity foundation, which is engaged in coordination within Ukraine, acts of acceptance and transfer of aid, reports, etc. And when another post with a photo or video of well-fed animals appears on social networks, it means that another mission, for which the whole process was launched, has been completed, and at the same time, the delivery of fodder to other regions continues. And so day after day, as long as there is a need for it.
Everyone’s contribution to this project is really significant, because without mutual support, such crazy help to shelters would not exist. It’s hard to say what’s more important: the feed that Purina® arranges for delivery from Europe, the warehouse where we store it all, or the people who unload it all and deliver it to the shelters. We have united in this project for the sole purpose of helping animals!
– sums up the fodder producer.
Help for those who are waiting for it
Despite the fact that Humanitarian Nova Poshta takes care of all the logistics, the final stage of aid organization remains the most difficult. After all, it is difficult to deliver what is necessary to the frontline regions. And if there is no Happy Paw coordinating partner in a remote community, the transfer takes even longer. In some cases, it may take 5-6 months from the receipt of the request to its implementation.
But even despite all this, the main challenge is the emotional component of the process. Thousands of abandoned pets in deserted settlements, many of which are injured or in need of treatment. Others, on the contrary, are touching with their playfulness and desire to survive against the background of devastation. And food is the least you can do to help them.
Help for animals of the Kherson Region / “Happy Paw” Facebook photo
Representatives of the “Happy Paw” BO state that their activities are inextricably linked with poignant stories. Many of them are remembered here. Some of them are not only about animals, but also about volunteers who, despite everything, save their lives.
And it’s not for nothing, because we live in such a time when everyone should be concerned about their safety. Especially when it comes to frontline regions.
Happy Paw pays special attention to such volunteers. The fund organizes field sterilization missions in Donetsk (Myrnograd, Kostyantynivka, New York, Selidove) and Zaporizhzhia regions (Gulyapole, Preobrazhenka, Orihiv). Thanks to sterilization and humanitarian missions, homeless animals receive a minimal examination by veterinarians, treatment, vaccinations and sterilization. Food is also delivered. Thus, at the end of 2023, during one of these missions, 820 kilograms of fodder were delivered to the Zaporizhzhia region.
Help in Gulyaipole, Preobrazhenka, Orihiv / Photo of “Happy Paw”
In addition, volunteers often get to know local residents who, despite the risks, do not plan to leave their homes. In order to support their pets at least a little, each owner is provided with a supply of food for several months.
The most painful thing is to see tears of gratitude in the eyes of grandparents who stay in frontline cities to take care of their and abandoned animals. Their stories are impressive, because every day can be their last, their streets and houses are destroyed, and the shelling does not stop for a day, philanthropists share with us.
Everyone can help
During the existence of the initiative, it was possible to present satisfying moments to many animals who have unfairly become victims of our reality. In particular:
- in 2022, 174 tons of fodder were given to 250 zoo organizations and guardians. Thanks to this, it was possible to feed 35 thousand animals*;
- in 2023, more than 486 tons of fodder, which is more than 1,200,000 portions, went to 1,700 animal protection organizations and volunteers, under whose care more than 100,000 homeless animals are;
- in 2024, aid increased to 561 tons of fodder for 1,300 organizations and volunteers who take care of 110,000 animals.
The amount of feed provided for the needs of animals increases. However, it is difficult to cover the entire country without a network of animal volunteers. Therefore, those who are equally rooting for the well-fed and happy life of animals are advised to join in helping.
You can familiarize yourself with the rules of the project by link.
No one knows how long the war will last and how long Ukrainian animals will need support. Despite this obscurity, charitable initiatives are doing their best to deliver help where it is needed. And as long as Purina®, Happy Paw and Nova poshta cover the basic needs of shelters and animal volunteers, there is confidence that tomorrow Ukrainian animals will meet well-fed and healthy. And this realization is the best motivation to continue your work and scale it.
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