Den published the first interview with Lilia Yemelianenko, one of the leaders of the volunteer cat-and-dog salvation movement, on Dec. 5, 2008. After this publication she became a regular contributor, telling about abandoned pets, resulting in a number of such pets finding new homes and true love and care.
The Day visited Yemelianenko’s shelter in Hlevakha recently.
We were greeted with a deafening barking concerto performed by dogs of all imaginable breeds, ranging from Veniamin, a Moscow Watchdog, a hefty and very active boy, even if blind and chained to his place, and several others further in the kennel. Their barking proved to be a way of welcoming the visitors, for each responded to our attempt to get on a first-name basis with what could only be described as heartfelt friendly attitude. Every animal had a neat modern cage. The kennel had sufficient playground, as well as vegetable and fruit plantations. Also, the smallest animals, like the Pekinese girl by the name of Lucy (more on her further on) are kept in the kennel handlers’ home.
We could see that Lilia had to work hard to tend to her four-legged population and that she did it with genuine dedication, patience, and professional care.
We waited until she was through tidying up the cages and feeding her animals. Then we sat down and talked.
Lilia, how did your animal shelter come about?
“I’ve been taking care of abandoned pets for more than 15 years, but my apartment had a limited accommodating capacity, so we later moved to a private home and converted it into an animal shelter.”
How many animals do you have?
“An average of 30, mostly dogs.”
You had to do a great deal of revamping, didn’t you?
“That’s right. We had to build the cages, doghouses, and fence off the playgrounds.”
How many can you take at a time?
“Thirty is the limit we can accommodate to keep every animal comfortable. I don’t have more than two dogs in a cage. Keeping five animals in the same small confines is abnormal, except for small puppies, but there mustn’t be more than two adults per cage.”
Where do you find your animals?
“Hard to say. Lots of people call, asking to take care of their dogs. We also drive down city streets to see how many pets have to be taken care of. There are also online forums about animal protection. They encourage you to pick a dog that’s badly in need of human assistance.”
Any preferences?
“Owing to our current capacities, I prefer to take care of bigger dogs, like German shepherds, Alabama dogs, or dogs with health problems — in other words, those that even the volunteers refuse to tend to, simply because they are physically unable to sustain them.”
What happens when you can’t accommodate these pets for want of room?
“Sad but true, we have been forced to turn them down of late, for want of accommodation room. Where and when we spot an animal that is about to die on a city street, we pick it and bring to a veterinary clinic. We pay for other contingences, like having such pets accommodated by other shelters until we can transfer them to ours.”
What about your pets with most dramatic life stories?
“There is the Pekinese girl named Lucy that comes to mind first. Several years ago we bought her out of another shelter; she was paralyzed, and we got her using an ad reading that that there was a Pekinese girl on sale, worth 250 hryvnias. She has been our animal for several years. Unfortunately, few if any Ukrainians are interested in keeping crippled pets, while in the West the attitude is the exact opposite. And she is a cute little dog.”
Why was she paralyzed?
“The female owner of the kennel wanted her to beget white puppies, so she ruthlessly forced her to mate with lots of boys, neglecting vitamins or just adequate food supplies (she kept her Pekinese animals fed with chicken heads), and so she kept Lucy exploited until she got paralyzed. The truth is that no animal can be kept reproducing on an unlimited basis. Anyway, having every female animal produce litter every six months isn’t standard practice with respectable kennel keepers.”
Otherwise it’s more like conveyor belt output, isn’t it?
“Right. Lucy’s owner said she ’squeezed out’ white puppies out of her.”
Terrible!
“We often accommodate puppies or adult dogs who have sustained serious body injuries. There is this girl named Niuta. We picked her as a pup and she’d spent two weeks lying down in a ditch by the side of a highway. She couldn’t walk, so we fed her and treated her as best as we could, and then we received a phone call. We were told that she had sustained three hipbone and hind-leg fractures. We hired a very good surgeon who solved Niuta’s problems. Now she is a healthy girl, except that she has a pin in her paw. The surgeon joked that this would trigger the metal detector’s alarm at any air terminal, should we travel with her. There are lots of good animals that have lived with people, that want to keep living with people can take good care of children. Unfortunately, they fail to find masters, lacking breed or failing to meet purebred length or color standards.”
Watching your dogs, one is reminded of an old good [Soviet] animated cartoon: “A dog will bite just because of his dog-eat-dog way of life.” Your dogs have hard life stories, yet they look so kind-hearted.
“I think that your quote proves that a dog will never get aggressive if trained, treated, and fed the right way. A dog can seldom get wild enough to resist coexisting with man, except when specially trained as a killer — when its owner/handler finds himself faced with an uncontrollable animal and then wants to get rid of it. More often than not, such cases involve large attack dogs, with their owners saying something like ’I tried to break him in, but he remained aggressive.’ Breaking in? Some say they beat their dogs until they could only crawl away, leaving a trail of blood. There is a big difference between having a dog, loving it, and teaching it to obey your commands, and forcing it to obey you by applying violence, for in this case your dog may well respond in kind, attacking you, taking you by surprise.”
Then what?
“Even in such cases we don’t want to dispose of them; we try to find places where such dogs can serve as the best security guards — we want these dogs to have a chance to survive, and we watch them if and when they get this chance.
From what I know, excessively aggressive dogs are put to sleep in the West.
“On more occasions than I care to remember it wasn’t aggressive dogs but people who feared their aggressiveness. A dog in an open-air cage will snarl and jump at the bars if a stranger approaches it, which is only natural because it is that dog’s territory and the dog protects it. This, however, doesn’t mean that the dog will be aggressive in different circumstances. If you bring a dog to a different place and allow it to trust people again, you won’t have any problems.
“Not so long ago they closed a ginseng-growing business in a suburban forest. The five watchdogs were to be shot because they were very aggressive. In actuality, they were normal but long since left without human care. Anyway, they were carrying out their duty protecting the property. Fortunately, they were spared execution; now each has a new owner who is happy with their performance.”
You run a business entity known as GNOM. What is it all about?
“GNOM is a [Russian] acronym for the City Independent Association of Mini-shelters. Our current membership is about 800 persons from all over Ukraine. These people look after homeless pets. Many of them have home-like mini-shelters for cats or dogs.”
What exactly is a mini-shelter?
“It’s a shelter for five or more animals. Although if your apartment accommodates up to 20 animals, we don’t include it in our category, because this isn’t a normal approach, rather an example of abuse that makes the animals and the people living next door suffer. Our GNOM unites people who share the idea of helping pets, although it means helping fellow humans in the first place, considering that we reduce the number of stray dogs by placing them in our shelters and thus lowering the degree of discomfort they cause for urban residents.
“Our activities are diversified; some of our members specialize in asexualization/sterilization, others in finding lost pets, placing such pets in shelters, helping cripples or shelters, etc. We keep in touch using our website, encouraging our members, and providing them with professional recommendations. Of course, what we do looks on a small scale compared to the problems that have to be solved in Kyiv and across Ukraine, but we’re happy to know that we find stray pets and place them in our shelters.”
Apparently, not all such animal shelters have an official status.
“Sad but true. Considering the attitude of the local authorities, this status does more harm than good, so we don’t have legally registered shelters because we know that the authorities will never help us, and that having this status is very likely to produce numerous problems instead.”
Problems of what kind?
“We have no official designation of animal shelter in the first place. Instead, we have legislation that permits just three pets per an urban dwelling place. In other words, if you have a legally registered animal shelter with five pets, you may well be informed tomorrow that you can keep only three pets. Then you’ll have problems. Add to this the close attention of the controlling authorities.
“In the case of a large animal shelter that keeps injured animals or carries out surgeries, you will have to install a state-of-the-art operating room. Can you think of an animal shelter that can afford this? And a special cremation facility must be in place. At present, we can call a pet disposal agency and pay an average of 280 hryvnias for picking and cremating a body — formally, at a meat and bone processing and packing factory in Baryshevka, where every such body is actually turned into meat-and-bone meal as feed for poultry and cattle.”
In other words, there is too much red tape involved.
“The problem, rather, is being unable to meet all set requirements. What animal shelter we have at present are privately owned. There are lots of pets to take care of and a lack of funds.”
Talking about funds, where do you get the money?
“Let’s say that we are a team and we have our benevolent fund. If I need dog food or dog medicines, I can always contact friends and rely on their help. And vice versa. There is also the difference between running your business and taking care of homeless pets.
“Returning to the official status, [our] animal shelters can’t get it for the reasons I’ve mentioned. We have one government-run shelter at Borodianka, but I can only describe this one as a death camp, all things considered, while buying a dog out of Borodianka costs between 450 and 850 hryvnias, and you can do so only within working hours, on certain weekdays.”
Aren’t they interested in giving out their shelter animals?
“Theirs is a municipally run enterprise; in other words, they … are interested in receiving revenues at the expense of their animals. There is a ridiculously big difference between what you have to pay for a purebred puppy at an officially established kennel and for an unfortunate animal of a municipally run animal shelter (simply because you want to save the poor animal).”
From your observations, who usually comes to get dogs?
“Various kinds of individuals, ranging from diplomats to residents of backwater villages. We often see people come to a dog’s rescue who are not dog-keepers by any standard; they do so simply because they pity this dog’s poor lot.”
So we do have people capable of such empathy, don’t we?
“We certainly do. We have lots of feedback. People keep calling us, asking about such-and-such dog, how he or she is faring. Of course, we understand that not everyone can afford taking a shelter animal and making him/her comfortable at their homes, but empathy is the important thing.”
What about volunteers?
“It’s hard to define the notion; anyone can be a volunteer at our shelters so long as he/she agrees to do a certain amount of work free of charge. We also have assistants, more often than not middle-aged people who feel for our animals but are unable to help us financially, even physically. They feed stray cats and dogs where they live, much to the chagrin of their neighbors, which is quite understandable. There are also progressive individuals who vary in age and academic background; many of them are employed by foreign companies, with foreign communication experiences. They realize that the way we’re treating homeless pets is abnormal and are willing to share their experience and money to help improve the situation.”
Speaking of changes, I remember our first interview in December 2008. Has your situation changed for the better?
“I opened my animal shelter in the past year. Before that it was just so many pets kept in hotel rooms, at a dear cost to us all. Also, during the past year a number of pets have been taken care of, with most finding new owners. Our website has been enhanced, attracting new visitors and featuring happy stories. We keep working.”
How is the situation outside the shelter? What about all those stray dogs?
“Regrettably, this situation is going from bad to worse. The Kyiv City Administration adopted a program for the desexualization of stray pets, getting them homes, keeping such newly adopted pets under control, preventing them from being caught and slaughtered in a barbarous manner, but this program proves ineffective and we see an increasing number of homeless pets. Strange as it may seem, my feeling is that there are special teams that catch stray dogs in the suburbs and then let them loose in downtown to aggravate the situation. Today one can see large packs of big dogs in the center of Kyiv, while the municipal authorities appear to be eager to get back to the good old slaughterhouse technique.”
Why?
“I think the reason is the previous huge budget appropriations for the catching, slaughtering, and desexualization of stray dogs and for what was officially referred to as their quarantine status. These funds are no longer available, because we have no [officially adopted] program. If we get back to the old practice of tracking down, catching, and putting animals to sleep, we will get the ’right kind’ of budget funding – something in which many people are interested.”
What one should do to help change this situation?
“We discussed this a year ago. Our authorities must show an interest; there must be legal punishment for abusing pets, including guilty parties regardless of their rank and position. The current impassive approach results in scattering poison on city streets, shooting down stray dogs from apartment windows. The municipal authorities must be held responsible for the manner in which all these homeless pets are handled; they must see to it that these pets are treated in a civilized way. They must also be made responsible for the working out of such programs and for monitoring them.
“What about the Ptashka (Birdie) bazaar in Kyiv? It’s worse than a swine flu hotbed. Do you know how many people are still mourning the death of their infected pets they bought there? What we need is unity between the animal-protection centers, authorities, and the media. In addition to humane means of controlling the population of our pets, such as sterilization, there must be a separate project aimed at enlightening the population, so that no one would feel ashamed to pick a mongrel and bring him/her home or take out a crippled pet; so homeless pets can find new loving masters; so people will not be afraid to have his/her pet sterilized, keep birth control, and prevent mongrel offspring from being put on sale at a local bazaar.
“It’s high time we put an end to this uncontrollable reproduction, owing to the owners’ negligence or lack of knowledge. We must have all such unauthorized pet bazaars closed. We must license all sales of dogs, so as to guarantee purebred kennel product and/or safe shelter animal’s adoption.”
This will take more than decrees, even big money. Apparently this requires a different kind of mentality.
“We know that this won’t happen overnight, so we would like our project to attract not only volunteers but also local authorities.”
Great. What would be your first step?
“I could be wrong, but I believe that making people aware of the importance of the whole thing, explaining them what’s involved, should come first. What we need is a program including data concerning reproduction, sterilization, and so on. We often have to deal with a situation involving five to six watchdogs left on a fenced-of and abandoned construction site. We tell the security guards that we can take care of the dogs, sterilize them. What we hear in response is something like mind your own business and we’ll take good care of our dogs. The disheartening result is that five females get pregnant and produce offspring within five months, so that there is a pack of 25 dogs. What happens to them after the construction project is carried out? They are let loose, to be coped with by the tenants. You see, lots of bad things happen simply because our people don’t have sufficient knowledge; if they knew, they would be willing to help us and we would be able to reduce the number of homeless pets to a minimum.”
Is there anything our journalists can do to help?
“You can do a great deal. Our people are fond of watching television and reading books and newspapers, so if fed this kind of information on a regular basis, I think even the hard-line skeptics would have second thoughts.”
There doesn’t seem to be sufficient television coverage.
“You might as well say there is no coverage, period. Instead, we watch and hear about people bitten by dogs. Eventually we find out that the dogs weren’t the guilty party, but there are never retractions, so there remains this image of a large dog attacking and killing a human being. Of course, we have lots of problems, among other things the Euro 2012 Soccer Finals. There is enough food for thought. Yet this issue [of care for abandoned pets] should help us achieve cultural growth. There is no explaining the lack of official interest.”
How can average citizens, not volunteers, help?
“There are ways in which such people can help, few as they are. We receive calls from tenants of apartment buildings who ask us to sterilize stray dogs who live there. Regrettably, we have no free sterilization programs. Likewise, it is hard to expect a volunteer to pay for sterilization. However, collecting as little as five hryvnias per apartment would suffice for sterilization and keeping the dog under stationary treatment.
“There is also the matter of inoculation and keeping people informed. We can receive a call about a dog that has been producing litter for a decade. We help get her sterilized, so what matters is good will. Afterward the tenants see no pups to worry about while the dog, everyone’s favorite, is still there.”
You have to take care of your shelter, GNOM Association, and helpdog.kiev.ua. How do you manage all this?
“There is actually less burden to shoulder. GNOM was set up by a group of individuals and is being coordinated by all the registered members, people who can and wish to dedicate their time to the project. As for my animal shelter, the main problem is medical treatment. We receive pets with health problems. In many cases they need IV and surgery. All this is easier said than done, physically as well as financially. Imagine having to deliver an ailing dog to a vet clinic where he/she is examined, diagnosed, operated upon, and prescribed postsurgical treatment. On the other hand, you are happy to see what was a famished, dying dog transformed into a happy-go-lucky one after several months of treatment. This is the source of our enthusiasm. We get it the hard way, but don’t ask me how (laughs).”
May I ask you to reveal the source of your enthusiasm?
“It’s when an abandoned pet finds a new loving master. Seeing this fills you with fresh enthusiasm, knowing that you will be able to help other pets. Also, when we receive another homeless pet; I know I must help this poor abandoned animal, otherwise it will die. That’s when I find extra energy and resources, however limited.”
There must have been moments when you thought the whole project was unfeasible.
“Right. There have been moments and even days like that.”
What did you do in these cases?
“I followed the daily routine. How can you explain to a hungry dog that you are in a blue mood, too depressed to feed him/her? No way. Besides, there are all those shelter animals under medical treatment. They have to be handled in a special way. When they get well, the situation changes, especially if they find a new loving master — particularly if this new master happens to be the one they once helped keep alive. Here the main thing is moral support from like-minded communal members, especially from casual visitors to our Web site. With this kind of support, there is no room for blue mood.”
Do you have a hobby?
“Needlework — I’m kidding. I have my family, a daughter who is 18 years old and needs my attention. There is very little left in terms of leisure, although we manage family visits to a movie theater, read books, and meet with our friends. And if I happen to be in the mood and have time, I actually enjoy knitting a sweater. I’m an experienced knitter. I also love horses. I used to get over my depressions by riding a horse in the woods. No such opportunity these days.”
How do you see your prospects?
“I know I’ll keep in the same vein. I’ve spent too many years doing this to abandon it… I want to see fewer humans and animals lost and abandoned on the street. I want more people willing to adopt homeless pets. I want to hear more stories about homeless pets being found and reinstated in their happy abode… Regarding myself, it’s hard to say. We’ll see. Let’s meet in a year’s time, OK?”
GNOM (www.helpdog.kiev.ua), Kyiv's independent association of animal shelters, wishes to express its gratitude to Den for helping animals in distress and changing their life for the better.
