The team brought several tons of donated food from the Romanian border into our base camp in Ukraine. From there, the group delivered 50 tons of food to various shelters in need, Ukrainian rescue groups, and kind people who took in animals off the street but were unable to secure food on their own. A veterinarian who accompanied us for a few days examined all the animals with Jeff’s assistance and they administered first aid and medication when needed. Several dozen of the worst cases were brought back to base camp for further care. During the time no veterinarian was available, the group was able to pull over a thousand dogs from abandoned shelters. These were shelters where the staff left the dogs behind. These dogs were taken to our base camp, safer shelters in Western Ukraine, and we were able to take some to Romania, before their government put a hold on rescue pets coming across the border.
A crew was dropped off to assist one of the zoos in Kyiv. There were only 6 zoo keepers left to take care of over 300 animals. The crew stayed for 3 weeks helping in any way they could. Jeff, Steve and a few others returned with more supplies and while waiting to meet at a rendezvous spot to hand off the supplies, they heard gunfire a block away (which Jeff caught on his cell phone video).
We delivered medical and personal items to a Ukrainian group in central Ukraine who took it to a children’s hospital that was in desperate need.
The team (along with the Veterinarian from the UK) went to the shelter in the heavily bombed city of Borodyanka, and also to the shelter in Droog which had over 500 animals in desperate need of food and care. Over 4.5 tons of food was delivered and the team is committed to mentoring local shelter staff in Droog so they can improve operations in the future.
Current operations include helping rebuild shelters damaged during bombings in Irpin and Bucha, building a temporary shelter in Ukraine to house pets from the eastern parts of Ukraine which are currently under heavy Russian attack, and completing the new shelter in Arad, Romania. Time and money are of the essence. Currently the team is spending over $1700 a DAY in fuel costs. $20,000 every two weeks is being spent in vehicle repairs. The Ukrainian roads are brutal on vehicles!
Much of this work is being conducted in active war zones. In areas held by Russian forces, Jeff and the team had to wait until troops retreated. There were air raid sirens day and night, planes flying overhead, and destruction everywhere. Dozens of military checkpoints to get from one place to another (some tense moments) and rerouting due to shelling, presence of tanks, impassible roads. Lack of running water in the camp posed a challenge to taking care of dogs being held there until they could get to Western Ukraine.
Jeff and Jen are the owners of Groomingdales, an award winning pet grooming shop in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Winners of over 30 “Best Of” awards, they will be celebrating 20 years in business next year. Jeff and his staff groom local shelter dogs in their community for free and have consistently donated their time and profits to local charities. They have served on numerous boards and committees throughout their 30 years on Hilton Head. They both are certified in Pet CPR & First Aid for disaster rescue. Jeff is also certified in Animal Shelter and Rescue Emergency First Aid. Jen has a military and government contractor background and has worked overseas.
