Kharkiv Animal Treatment Center currently hosts about 10 dogs from Kupyansk, and a total of about 400 dogs and 80 cats are waiting for a new home in their cages.

The center is currently housing dogs from Kupiansk whose owners evacuated to Kharkiv but cannot keep large dogs. The dogs can stay here as long as necessary until their accommodation issue is resolved.

Many animals came to the shelter because of the war. Sometimes they were brought by their owners, because they have no one to take care of them. Volunteers and the military took others from the de-occupied territories of Kharkiv region. Some have already been rehomed.

The center has launched a new program to accelerate the process of finding owners for dogs and cats.

“We let the animals out on the street under the care of Kharkiv residents. Anyone can come to us and choose an animal. We put a clip, vaccinate the animal against rabies and send it to a caretaker. We sign an agreement with the person that he or she undertakes to care for it. And then the animal is taken care of, fed and supervised on the territory – on the streets of Kharkiv,” says Yelyzaveta Lytvynenko, head of the department of animal adoption and provision of services to the public of the Animal Treatment Center.

Animals from Kupyansk Were Evacuated to Kharkiv. Some of the Dogs Have Been Rehomed / Photo: Ivan Samoilov for Gwara Media
Animals from Kupyansk Were Evacuated to Kharkiv. Some of the Dogs Have Been Rehomed / Photo: Ivan Samoilov for Gwara Media
Animals from Kupyansk Were Evacuated to Kharkiv. Some of the Dogs Have Been Rehomed / Photo: Ivan Samoilov for Gwara Media
Animals from Kupyansk Were Evacuated to Kharkiv. Some of the Dogs Have Been Rehomed / Photo: Ivan Samoilov for Gwara Media
Animals from Kupyansk Were Evacuated to Kharkiv. Some of the Dogs Have Been Rehomed / Photo: Ivan Samoilov for Gwara Media
Animals from Kupyansk Were Evacuated to Kharkiv. Some of the Dogs Have Been Rehomed / Photo: Ivan Samoilov for Gwara Media

See also

Animals Rescue Kharkiv evacuated 42 animals from Chasiv Yar. The organization has been working for seven years. The team rescued animals in Kharkiv, and since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Animals Rescue Kharkiv has reorganized and started evacuating animals from Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Luhansk oblasts.

Constant missile attacks and empty streets: how Kupyansk lives on the front line. This city in Kharkiv Oblast is 10-15 km/ 6–9 miles from the front line and 40 km/ 25 miles from the border with Russia. The city was severely damaged at the beginning of the full-scale invasion and during the battle for its liberation in September 2022. Today, it is constantly under fire from Russian MLRS and S-300 systems.