Letter from Ukraine

Thought I’d check in and say hello. (“Local Man is Saving Animals in Ukraine,” June.)

I am currently in Kyiv at a home of two fabulous people who went from contacts to friends. They ran a pet hotel before the war and now it’s a refuge shelter for dogs and cats. It has become a safe house for the Kitty Cat Underground Railroad that has evolved. 

The cats come from a shelter in Dnipro. To get them out of Ukraine into Poland and beyond, the cats must have an animal passport and a Ukrainian owner. The cats are examined at border control and if documentation is in order for them as well as the Ukrainian owners, we can bring a maximum of five cats across at a time. Then we meet in Przemyśl, Poland, with someone who takes them to Vienna for adoption. 

The catch is that a Ukrainian owner can only do this once. So, every time I cross the border, I have a different Ukrainian with me. So far none of them speak English and it gets very interesting spending four or five days together.

Tom Bates, Lakebay

To donate to Tom Bates directly, go to https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/ukrainian-war-animal-care-fund/x/752621#/