In our harsh, pragmatic time there are more people prepared to abandon their dogs than those who are willing to adopt them. The numbers of homeless animals on the streets of our cities confirm a phenomenon that is frowned on European countries. The state, particularly the Kyiv city administration, prefers to finance kennels and pay 76 hryvnias for every stray pet. The staff of Hostomil’s kennel recently held a campaign called “Find a Friend.” They came to Kyiv with several puppies and photos of other kennel residents. They offered them to anyone who showed an interest — well, not to just anyone, but people with “nice hands.” Individuals who were willing to adopt a puppy had to sign an agreement with a clause specifying that the pet is to be kept in adequate conditions, must be sterilized within one year, and returned to kennel in case of problems, but never abandoned on the street. Ten puppies immediately found loving owners and five dogs were picked up by their prospective owners, who visited the kennel the same day. Approximately 10 to 15 other animals were inspected and will probably be adopted. Every month 30 animals on average are adopted from the kennel, but many more are dumped there.
The Day asked about the types of people who tend to choose pets from the kennel and take them home. “These people are different,” says kennel employee Iryna. “Some look prosperous, like they could buy themselves expensive pedigree dogs, but they come and take dogs just to help us out. Roughly half of them bring these dogs to private homes. They usually come with their wives and kids.” Others prefer to pick their four-legged friends right off the street, thinking that an animal in a kennel will receive proper care.
Autumn always forces us to think about winter and where and how to pass this season. This is the problem faced by a little potbellied pup that has spent almost a month in the underpass at the Obolon metro station. In the last couple of days, when autumn made it perfectly clear that summer’s warmth is over, the pup set off to find an owner. Of course, he must have been on the lookout earlier, even when he was lying belly up, basking in the sun or winning sympathetic looks from passers-by with his humble demeanor. Now the pup chases anyone who looks his way, because this is the only way to survive the winter.
Homeless animals that are picked up by a kennel or adopted are among the few lucky ones. What about those left on the street? This issue, which has gotten a lot of attention in the past few years, is still unresolved. Abandoned pets suffer from all kinds of infections, and packs of stray dogs are a danger not only to pets but to people. Most Ukrainians are sympathetic. Every third passer-by stops to pat the puppy in Obolon. Ukrainian society is against euthanasia, the usual method for resolving the problem of stray animals, given that the methods used by municipal agencies are anything but humane. I won’t recount all the horrors associated with animal euthanasia, known as shkurodernia (knackery). The term speaks for itself. According to data collected by civic organizations, every year some 35,000 stray dogs are put down. The fee per captured dog is now 76 hryvnias, instead of 37.
“We propose the European way of progress, sterilization. A number of countries are known to have solved the problem this way, including Poland and the Czech Republic,” says Tamara Tarnavska, president of the international civic organization “SOS Society for the Protection of Pets.” She says that the funds allocated for this slaughter are enough to ensure their sterilization.
“Suppose we get all these animals sterilized, then what?” asks Volodymyr Suvorov, head veterinarian at Kyiv’s Central Pet Clinic. “Does it mean we should let them all out on the street so that they keep on spreading diseases for another 10-15 years? Meanwhile, there will be another generation of homeless pets, and they will keep multiplying and getting sick. We tried mass sterilization some five years ago.” Another option is to have kennels where sterilized pets can live out the rest of their lives. But there are none; there are only sufficient numbers of animal slaughterhouses. If I don’t see that potbellied little puppy in the metro station’s underpass, I will be worried and wondering whether it has won its share of happiness or...
