{"id":2955,"date":"2022-03-17T18:55:11","date_gmt":"2022-03-17T18:55:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worabia.com\/news\/world-news\/uk\/2955\/"},"modified":"2022-03-17T18:55:11","modified_gmt":"2022-03-17T18:55:11","slug":"staffordshire-charity-saving-dogs-from-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worabia.com\/news\/world-news\/uk\/2955\/","title":{"rendered":"Staffordshire charity saving dogs from Ukraine"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A volunteer who rescues dogs from Ukraine and brings them to the UK for adoption said owners are heartbroken to give up their pets.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Elina Olifaruk, originally from Lviv, Ukraine, runs Paw Help Rescue and Adopt UK in Burton upon Trent.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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She said some pets stay because “families are afraid they won’t be allowed to cross borders with them.” <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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On Sunday, 25 dogs will arrive in the UK and go to a foster family while they wait for a permanent home.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThey cry and are heartbroken, but they leave them and ask us to help them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Ms Olifaruk, whose family is still in Ukraine, created the charity in 2020 as a way to support local dog charities in her home country.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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She said the volume of stray and abandoned dogs meant shelters and rescues in Ukraine had “minimal chance of getting at least half of their dogs adopted locally” and “local rescues receive little to no help and exist only with public donations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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However, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and nearly three million people having fled the country, the war has made rescuing dogs “ten times more difficult.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Staffordshire charity has many volunteers in Ukraine looking for abandoned dogs, as well as a contract with carriers who travel between the two countries to bring the animals to the UK. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Ms Olifaruk said: “If we know that some animals are locked in the house and crying, without access to food or water, we try to involve the police.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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He said the carriers who picked up the dogs last week were worried about working in the midst of the conflict, but “felt the spirit” at the Polish border, with people “cheering” on them. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Follow BBC West Midlands on <\/i>Facebook, <\/i>Twitter<\/a> and <\/i>Instagram. Send your story ideas to: <\/i>newsonline.westmidlands@bbc.co.uk<\/p>\n<\/div>\n