Ukraine: More space for rescued dogs thanks to new exercise areas

Great progress at the Odessa Animal Welfare Center

Bonn. The German Animal Welfare Association has completed important and urgently needed improvements to its animal protection and castration center in Odessa, Ukraine: New dog runs make it possible to accommodate dogs in need of protection in the long term. The dog houses are currently being renovated. The center cares for and castrates street dogs and cats and, despite the war, continues to be a contact point for animals in need.

“Thanks to donations from animal lovers, we have managed to complete long-awaited improvements in our Odessa animal protection center. This means we can offer the four-legged friends a life that meets their needs despite the difficult situation in Ukraine. Thanks to the new exercise areas, the dogs can romp, run around and play with other dogs to their heart's content,” says Luca Secker, specialist for animal protection abroad at the German Animal Welfare Association.

Despite the worsening situation in Ukraine, the employees at the Odessa animal protection and castration center of the German Animal Welfare Association are doing their best to help every single animal in need. The animal protection center works according to the concept of “catch, castrate, release,” but not every animal can be released back into its former territory after castration. The newly gained space ensures long-term accommodation and better care.

Further improvements in sight
Dog runs OdessaRenovation work on the dog houses in the animal protection center is also progressing. The aim is to ensure that animals in need of protection will find refuge in the Odessa animal protection center in the future, even if the need for space increases. Since the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in the summer of 2023 during the war, many animals have required intensive medical care, among other things.

In order to prevent diseases caused by parasites in street dogs and cats, the German Animal Welfare Association has also provided 12,000 euros for treatments with ecto- and endoparasiticides. These funds will be handed over to the volunteers who look after feeding stations for street animals in Odessa. In spring 2024, the association had already subsidized the treatment of 177 cats with parasiticides with 5,000 euros.