Helping refugee pets and their families rebuild lives in UK

For the first month of the war in Ukraine, Betty brought some rare joy to the terrified children at the school where her owner worked in Kyiv.

Most of the pupils had waved goodbye to fathers conscripted to the army, watched Russian shells rain down on their city and witnessed their mothers struggling to cope with the shock of the invasion.

But the golden Labrador puppy, who was rescued at just two months old after being left behind by a family fleeing a heavily bombed area, was a ray of sunshine amid the darkness.

Owner Viktoriia says: “She helped me to make the children happier, more smiley. They forgot about everything. They forgot they were scared. 

“They just ran all the time smiling and giggling and playing with lovely Betty. She was really very helpful.”

Betty was also a huge comfort to Viktoriia, who was alone due to her husband being in the military and their two children – Elizabeth, eight, and Bohdan, 10 – staying with their grandparents in a safer area.  

Soon, it became too dangerous for Viktoriia to stay, too. And a kind sponsor family stepped in to offer her, Betty and the children a home in England.  

But, due to strict quarantine rules in the UK to protect from zoonotic diseases like rabies, Viktoriia feared that she would not be able to bring her beloved pet. 

That was until Blue Cross stepped in to provide a safe and loving place for Betty to spend her four-month isolation period.

Without it, her journey to the UK may not have been possible.

Our Hertfordshire centre cared for a total of 13 pets belonging to Ukrainian refugees arriving in the UK.

And for young Betty, who was just a few months old, this care also meant lots of training work and enrichment to keep her puppy brain busy and active.

Viktoriia couldn’t be more grateful to the team, who provided regular updates, photos and videos.

She says: “I just imagined, like in Ukraine, that my dog would be sitting in a cage. And when I saw the picture, she was in a lovely room and they’d got her lovely toys. 

“In the video she was happy, jumping and playing. I don’t feel sad that my dog was here.”

“They didn’t just walk her. They spent a lot of time with my dog and gave a lot of love. I am really very happy to have an organisation like this who can take care of pets, the most important things in the world.”

We were so happy to reunite Betty, and the other dogs and cats we cared for during their quarantine period, with their loving families.

Blue Cross continues to help the pets of war through our Ukraine Pet Welfare Fund, which supports the life-saving work of four charities.