Volunteers Temporarily Sheltered the Rescued Animals Until Their Owners Could Return
This is reported by Kyiv24
In the capital, the volunteer organization Kyiv Animal Rescue Group shared the story of the pets that were saved from the rubble of a destroyed five-story building in the Darnytskyi district of Kyiv.
Astonishing Story of Pet Rescue
Among the rescued was a cat named Zhorik. His family attempted to carry the pet in a carrier to a shelter, but they didn’t make it in time – literally moments later, the apartment was destroyed. The carrier with the cat remained intact in the apartment, and Zhorik is doing well despite the difficult circumstances.
“They were about to run out of the apartment to the shelter – the mother, son, and the cat in the carrier. They didn’t make it – in an instant, the apartment turned into ruins. The child is in intensive care, the mother is with her son. The carrier with the cat remained in the apartment, miraculously intact, and Zhorik is doing well,” the animal rescuers wrote on the organization’s Facebook page.
In a neighboring apartment, rescuers found an aquarium with a hamster. The owner of this pet was trapped under the rubble and suffered severe injuries, but the hamster survived and was handed over to the volunteer team for care.
During the debris removal, the emergency services employees also found a small toy terrier, which was also handed over to the Kyiv Animal Rescue Group for further care.
The Animals Are Under the Care of Volunteers
“It turns out that the owners’ apartment is completely destroyed, the wife is in critical condition and has been urgently hospitalized, the husband is not seriously injured, he is the luckiest of all. In fact, everyone from this apartment is lucky – they are alive. Currently, the cat and the dog are hospitalized. Together with the hamster, they will be under the care of the team until the owners can retrieve them. We have decided to fully cover the costs of their treatment and maintenance,” KARG reported.
While working at the scene of the tragedy, animal volunteers helped the emergency services rescue three people from the rubble, after which they began searching for the animals. However, the operation had to be temporarily suspended due to a fire breaking out in part of the destroyed building.