Operation Ukraine

In March 2022, Dr. Jon Geller (SDC’s founder) spent 12 days at the Ukraine-Romania border vet checking pets of war refugees alongside SPCA International, Isaccea Vet Clinic, SAVA Dog Rescue (Romania), Dog Rescue Romania (Bucharest), Raincoast Dog Rescue (BC Canada), Project Red Shed (Dublin), We Love Dogs (Italy), and All Anim Delta (Ukraine). Refugees would have to abandon their pets if they didn't have the resources to get the required rabies vaccination, microchip and pet passport to continue on their journey…

Thank you, Дякую, Mulțumesc!

Thanks to immediate and ongoing support from individual donors, sponsors, and grantors including AVMF, SPCA International, Greater Good Charities, and WellBeing International we have been able to keep fur families together. And while Jon has returned to the states, the work continues. In unbridled collaboration with Worldwide Vets, led by Dr. Gemma Campling, we have launched our Ukraine Veterinary Mobile Outreach Program. We are traveling throughout Ukraine in a mobile veterinary clinic treating, vaccinating and/or sterilizing animals wherever we go, hosting an international team of vets, nurses, and technicians in Ukraine.

Ukraine Veterinary Mobile Outreach Mission 1 Stats


111 Dog spays
21 Dog castrates
210 Cat spays
65 Cat castrates

Totaling 403 sterilizations in 10 days.

All 403 animals were vaccinated for rabies
10 puppies received 1st round of core vaccines
455 animals were dewormed
198 animals received parasite treatment
24 animals received consultations, x-rays, and emergency care for issues, including dog attacks, traffic accidents, fractures, tumors, skin diseases, and more.

Video courtesy of Bpoda Television Company (Teлepaдioкoмпaнiя Бpoди).

Together Forever

As the saying goes, behind every good man, is a great woman. Featured on the left is Jean Geller, holding a recent publication in Veterinary Practice News honoring her husband and SDC’s founder, Dr. Jon Geller. Jean encouraged Jon to do something about the pets of refugees crossing the border when the war in Ukraine began in March 2022. We want to recognize both her and Jon for acting immediately when many were still processing the news. We also want to thank Blue Buffalo for recognizing Jon’s Operation Ukraine efforts with their “Together for Pets” award and donating $10,000 to support ongoing Operation Ukraine initiatives.

Every year the ASPCA honors incredible animal and human heroes who reflect the ASPCA’s dedication to animal welfare. In October 2022, Jon received the ASPCA Henry Bergh Award in recognition of Operation Ukraine.

Border Blog:

Featured
Home safe, but the work continues...
Home safe, but the work continues...

THANK YOU SO MUCH to those of you who have followed this blog and our efforts at the southern Romania-Ukraine border these past 12 plus days. I am now back home with my family in Colorado, but the work continues… Please follow Jesse Adams and the Rain Coast Rescue Society (@raincoastdogrescue) for more updates and contact me if you’d like to volunteer or learn more. #WeStandWithUkraine #NoOneLeftBehind

A boy and his cat...
A boy and his cat...

Trucks with supplies along and more ferries with refugees have arrived in Isaccea. It is busier today because of bombings near Odessa, but our vet check station is actually pretty controlled and mellow right now, as we have everything set up efficiently. Featured here is a young boy named Nestor with his cat, Austin. Also, our blue tent has inspired a nickname for our volunteer crew: The Blue Vet Group.

Good news travels fast...
Good news travels fast...

Thanks to all the news networks and publications covering this SDCI story. The more people who read, watch, and talk about the work we’re doing over here, the better. Please share this news article/video by KDVR’s Courtney Fromm as well as this story by KRDO’s Natalie Haddad and continue to keep every pet and human experiencing homelessness--be it a war refugee or someone struggling down the block--in your thoughts and hearts and do whatever you can to right a wrong situation.

World Central Kitchen...
World Central Kitchen...

Shout out to World Central Kitchen, feeding volunteers and refugees on the border of Ukraine and Romania. WCK is an amazing organization providing meals in response to humanitarian, climate, and community crises. They build resilient food systems with locally led solutions. As they say, "Wherever there’s a fight so hungry people may eat, we will be there – we must be there."

Anim All Delta Dog Rescue...
Anim All Delta Dog Rescue...

Maximilian, another volunteer I’m working with on the border, is trying to build an animal rescue near Isaccea named Anim All Delta. Here is a link to their website: https://animalldelta.com/ Yes, it is in Ukrainian, but photos speak louder than words, and Google will translate the website to English if you click this link: https://animalldelta-com.translate.goog/?_x_tr_sl=ro&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc. They are also on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Animalldelta/

Pack-of-Two...
Pack-of-Two...

This man from Ukraine worked on a fishing boat in Russia, and his credit cards were from Russian banks. He was cut off and out of gas and had no currency. A veterinary nonprofit gave him several hundred dollars cash so he could at least make it to Germany, where his wife was. He was so crazy about his dog! We also treated a stray that was badly injured.

No lights, no heat, no problem...
No lights, no heat, no problem...

Day two wrapped up lots of excitement. We lost our lights and heat for a while, but we now have our own tent.

Amazing volunteers...
Amazing volunteers...

This is a photo of our vet team at the border. It's cold here! There is an amazing group of volunteers from all over the world. We are collaborating with several other groups that we have met here, and being supported by two local vets. We are hoping to find other DVM's to follow up and make our vet station somewhat continuous. Ideally they would have an assistant of some kind and one of them would speak Russian or Ukraine.

Ferry crossings...
Ferry crossings...

Currently things are relatively quiet, with about 300-500 people crossing a day on the ferry. This is the only crossing for South Ukraine, and numbers are expected to grow dramatically when Odessa is invaded. There were several bombings there today. Pet numbers vary widely, but generally see 10-30 per day. It is icy cold here with the wind blowing across the Danube from Ukraine. Tomorrow we will have our own tent.

Packing and planning...
Packing and planning...

We are setting up a vet check station at the Romanian-Ukraine border to provide veterinary care and pet passports to pets of refugees. In addition, we are collaborating with several other organizations, and a local veterinarian, to set up an emergency pet shelter and transport plan to get them to a large shelter in Bucharest. We may also be setting up an adoption program for any abandoned pets to get them to new homes in Canada, the US and UK. Isaccea is located in the far south of Ukraine, and refugee passage is expected to increase as southern cities like Odessa come under attack.

“Please Please” Music Video:

A team of filmmakers was asked to produce a music video entitled “Please Please” in an effort to shine some light during these dark times. Focusing their video on kindness instead of devastation, they asked The Street Dog Coalition if we'd like to be included. We said yes...

The Blue Vet Group:

The original tent where Operation Ukraine provided free vet checks to keep families together at the Ukraine-Romania border was bright blue, giving everything in it a blue hue. Naturally, we quickly nicknamed ourselves "The Blue Vet Group". See video tour below…