(reportage)

There is still a breath of life, like dogs and cats, on the frontline where guns have already burned the last houses. Their fate is no less tragic than Ukrainians in such zones. Through the heroic efforts of the military and volunteers, animals get a chance for a second happy life. But where does this second life begin?

There is the Patron Pet Center, which is located in VDNG, Kyiv. This place is full of love for animals. Every dog or cat has its own enclosure with waterproofing, noise insulation, and a heated floor. You can tell that this is a shelter, but workers of the centre will correct you. This is the centre for rehabilitation and adoption. Animals won’t stay there forever, like in a shelter. The main goal of people here is to help dogs and cats cope with stress and adapt to a safe place. Some animals will be transported to Germany, where they will get a family.

Today we will spend the evening in this centre. It’s 16.30 o’clock, and we are going to the 11th pavilion in VDNG. This time was chosen because that is when the evening dog walk begins. If you are interested in this activity, you can find out all the necessary information on their page on Instagram.

When we entered and saw a beautiful booth decorated for Halloween, and to the right was a table with a lady. She directed us to the administrator, Oleksandra, who would show us the centre.

The centre looked like a hostel. There was a corridor of doors behind which dogs sat. They were barking and wagging their tails. Oleksandra gladly introduced us to her favourite resident, Fender. As noted, almost all the dogs there were rescued from the war zone. This particular ‘tail’ was in the minority. Fender was found with his brother in the forest, tied to a tree, when they were puppies. When Oleksandra came to the centre, he was already there. Their acquaintance was difficult, because Fender lunged and tried to bite the girl. But at that moment we just saw how happy he was to meet her, jumping on her and following the commands that Oleksandra taught him. The girl said that the dog was very intelligent, usually only attacking those who posed a potential threat. For example, during a walk, he attacked a drunken man who was shouting something at Oleksandra.

We looked around the enclosures and moved on, where we saw a small dog sitting on a leash. We were told that although the dog can walk with people, he did not give himself into hands, so he was ready for a walk without unnecessary touching.

After a tour in the centre, we were given the first dog to walk. This was Romeo. He was already a senior dog. He didn’t always respond to his name, because he stubbornly went where he had planned to go. The walk didn’t last long, because Romeo pulled us inside after a small circle near the centre. Then we volunteered to take another dog. We were warned that this dog was special and needed four wheels to help him. Oleksandra carried a not very big dog with its hind legs tucked in. This was Zara, and she was from the Kherson region, one of the first residents of the centre. She needed a special walk, where she stretched her paws thanks to a special wheelchair. Once a small swimming pool was bought for her rehabilitation, but she did not appreciate the gift. So Olexandra hooked Zara to the wheelchair and showed us what to do. The girl needed to be praised, pushed and guided, but she coped with the task perfectly well on her own. Sometimes, however, Zara was tricky to get a treat.

After warming up with her, we were offered two dogs. These were small dogs that had already been adopted in Germany. One of them was Gucci and the other was Eckler. They are a girl and a boy. They greeted us with joy and started jumping on our feet. It was the longest walk of the three, because you won’t get bored with these little friends. Eckler was constantly preventing Gucci from getting even a metre ahead of him, he was constantly tripping over poles, jumping up and down and pulling him towards everything that might seem interesting to him. In contrast, the girl was completely calm and hardly pulled on the leash. She walked elegantly from the side you held her and always responded to her name. We finished walking the dogs with these two. During the walk, we saw that each dog has its own character. Some are tricky, some actively jump in the hope of walking more, but all of them are eager for human attention and care.

The centre was also preparing to expand. They were building a second floor, so, we could see construction materials in the lobby. There would be a library, a coworking space and a café with cats. As the director Iryna Podvoiska told the journalist of ‘Snidanok z 1+1’, a real town for stray animals was being built on the territory of the centre. This was a unique space where people’s eyes lighted up when they saw their wards, where everyone was ready to do everything to help the cats recover from their experience.

Everyone can also become part of a team that helps animals. All you need to do is come to the Patron Pet Centre, fill out a questionnaire and read the instructions. Let`s help these nice ‘tails’ to be a bit happier.