- Animal rescuers from Poland haven't slept in days as they rescue cats and dogs from a war-torn Ukraine.
- In just two weeks, the ADA Foundation has saved over 350 cats and dogs from Ukraine and are treating them and putting them up for adoption in Poland.
- "It's hard, but we don't give up. We keep fighting," Veterinarian Jakub Kotowicz told Insider.
Veterinarian Jakub Kotowicz and his team at the ADA Foundation in Przemysl, Poland, have spent the better part of the last two weeks shuttling wounded cats and dogs out of Ukraine and into safety across the border.
To date, Kotowicz and his team have saved over 350 cats and dogs in just three convoys across the border.
"We haven't slept for several days. My longest shift was 20 hours. After 3 hours of sleep, another transport arrived," Kotowicz explained to Insider. "It's hard, but we don't give up. We keep fighting."
The ADA Foundation has been in existence for 15 years. They rehab wounded animals and help homeless dogs and cats find new owners. They employ animal keepers, animal feeders, professional behaviorists, fundraisers, and administration staff.
When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, owners of animal shelters in the country reached out to Kotowicz and the ADA Foundation to ask for their help in rescuing the animals stuck in Ukraine.
"Unfortunately, everything is missing in Ukraine as a result of the war. From feed to veterinary care. Eastern Ukraine also lacks water, electricity, and fuel," Kotowicz said, adding that a once "difficult" situation has become "dire" for animals since Russia invaded.
"For many of these animals, transport to Poland is the only way to save their lives," he said, noting that there are reports of bombs falling on zoos in Eastern Ukraine.
"We currently have several such points in the western part of Ukraine that collect animals that need help and wait for us," Kotowicz said. "We organize humanitarian convoys for animals. We go there with cars full of food. We take back the full cars of animals in need of help."
He added: "Often, for these animals, getting to Poland is the only and last chance for rescue and survival."
Getting out of Ukraine isn't the hardest part, Kotowicz said. In fact, the guards expedite their journeys across the border most times.
"People understand that when animals are in dire condition, humanitarian transport cannot take too long," Kotowicz said.
The hard work starts when the injured animals — most of which are "in very bad condition," and stressed from the trip, Kotowicz said — arrive safely at the ADA Foundation facility.
The team starts by examining each animal, then treating those who are in critical condition first, working their way toward the animals that are in "better condition," Kotowicz said. Treatments include medical triage, strengthening, feeding, drinking, and testing for infectious diseases. They also chip each animal and treat them with preventative medication.
The weaker animals stay in the care of the ADA Foundation until they are strong enough to leave, some staying for "many weeks of hospitalization and intensive treatment." Those that are doing well are sent to other places in Poland and across Europe to be put up for adoption.
Kotowicz sees one patient who has a bullet lodged in his spine and will never walk again. The ADA Foundation is working on getting him a wheelchair. Another patient — a goat — has a serious disease of the paws, Kotowicz said.
Others are "sick, starved, weakened, without vaccinations, and prophylaxis," Kotowicz added. "We fight for every patient."