66 cats, 15 dogs and three people — all of them left Sloviansk, where the daily threat of shelling and drone attacks has long been a part of everyday life.
Maluky Sloviansk is a family-run shelter where a married couple took in dozens of homeless animals and looked after them every day, despite the dangers of frontline Sloviansk. The cats and dogs had become part of their extended family, so during the evacuation it was vital to keep them all together — and to find a way to move them all safely.
For our team, this became a major mission, combining the search for a new home, coordination, logistics and the safe transport of dozens of animals. We managed to find a place where they could all live together in the village of Lypovenke in the Kirovohrad region. Four cars were used for the move, and we organised everything needed for the long journey.
On 2 September, the large ‘Malukiv’ family arrived in Lypovenke. Their new home has plenty of space for the people and all the animals in their care, and most importantly — they are now in a safer region and can continue to stay together.
The scale of this mission is measured not by the number of cars or the kilometres travelled, but by the opportunity to help those for whom people have taken responsibility and whom they have not abandoned, even in the midst of war.
