Global Animal Rescue And Response

We are in urgent need to raise funds for emergency surgery for Angel, a very sweet dog from Ukraine who came to us under unexpected circumstances. She is currently in Gdansk, Poland with a foster going through all the processes to come to the US and her new family. While at the vet yesterday (27 December 2024), medical issues unknown to us came to light during exams that now require emergency surgery to fix them. She is currently admitted in hospital under 24/7 care and a surgical plan will be set for her on 30 December 2024.

On 24 August 2024, we were doing evacuations of animals from the Donbas in Ukraine and made a stop in Kramatorsk on the way back to Kharkiv to get a bite. One of the sweet street dogs who visited us immediately drew our eye for her calm and gentle nature. We had to run a quick errand to the local vet and while there were asked if we could pick up two cats from the military and take them to Kharkiv.

When we picked up the cats and were preparing to leave, the soldier came running up to the van desperate for help. Right in front of us, the gentle sweet dog who had endeared us was hit by a car. We stopped everything we were doing to render care to her and start the mad dash to get her to the clinic in Kharkiv. Below is video from the night that we got her to Animal Rescue Kharkiv's clinic in Kharkiv.

She had bi-lateral (both sides) hip fractures which were both displaced. She also had a fracture of her femoral head on the right side. Surgery was done a few days later and she began her recovery period. Within a few weeks she was standing and taking guarded steps. We thought everything was going well, and the process was started to take her to Gdansk, Poland to her foster so she could start the steps needed to come to her new family in the US. Despite everything she has been through, she has always smiled and put on a brave face.

On the drive to Poland, we made several stops where Angel used the bathroom and both peed and pooped. I noticed her tail was not moving out of the way, and made a note that it might need to be docked so she was not continuing to get poop stuck in it. As the trip went on, she was trying to pee and she would manage a few squirts in, but no real flow. The video below was from the drive addressing some of the issues to her foster.

To begin with, we know Angel had a lot of issues after being hit by the car in Kramatorsk. Animal Rescue Kharkiv did the initial surgery to get her walking again, but she needs more specialty care that just isn't available now in Ukraine with the war going on. We are thankful for what ARK did for her, so please don't think there was any lack of care on their part.

Unfortunately, we have had a major setback with Angel that is going to require additional surgeries before she will be ready to come to the US. We knew something was a bit off with the way her tail was sitting and how she was struggling with certain things such as going to the bathroom by the time we arrived into Warsaw. Her foster took her to the vet and she was immediately admitted. Below is the report that he gave us which the vet told him, and you can see her x-ray below.

"So now less positive news.

We were super lucky we've got an appointment today for Angel. I just came back home from the vet where I've been since 2pm (it's 11pm now). I didn't mention that here, as you were less responsive at that point, so I had a conversation with ****** as needed some clarification about her excretion.

So since she came to us, she wasn't able to properly poop. When outside, she tried without luck, then back home she laid down, and while resting, she excreted without any control. Whenever really smelly, we checked under her tail, and there was a ball of poo. Also, we've noticed she wasn't properly peeing as well. She drank normally but was not urinating enough, and her bladder had grown. So luckily we went to the vet today.

She had today a USG, RTG, blood tests, urine tests, etc.

She stays in the clinic overnight now as her bladder has been emptied, and she's been catheterized. So she's under observation now.

RTG showed many issues, which might be the reason for the damaged anal sphincter and urethra. One of her hip joints wasn't properly assembled, and the broken part spikes into a sphincter. The whole pelvis is dislocated. L6/S1 is fractured, as well as a tail. Metal plated has not been effectively assembled. The prognosis is bad. The vet says she'll check if any specialist would be happy to undertake such a task of reoperating her. It won't guarantee anything anyway, as there is a possibility that nerves could have been damaged ultimately and even fixing her spine will not resolve her excration problems. Tomorrow morning I'm going there for a follow up how she's been with a catheter, discuss the urine/blood results and recommendations.

Hopefully I'll have some better news tomorrow. I'll update you.

Also, I'll have to ask you to urgently reimburse our expenses as it's been a lot so far. I'll send you the receipts in a moment."

She has been taken to the 24/7 clinic for the weekend since she has a catheter. They are going to figure out how best to proceed to get her injuries repaired so she can continue her journey to the US.

This is going to be a long and expensive process. Total Receipts Already 2,476.66 PLN. It is going to keep climbing. Another 3,000PLN will be due Monday Dec 30. We have already covered more than $600USD in the first 24 hours, and we know the total is going to be many times more than this.

Please help us help her........ She is an innocent patient in all of this and we cannot let her down after getting her this far. Her family knows there will be a delay and are thankfully understanding based on the situation.

We are here for your Angel!!!!!

We are Global Animal Rescue And Response and getting Angel through this is what we will focus on doing.

Help Us Rescue Animals From The Frontlines In Ukraine

As the world watched in horror two years ago, Russia invaded Ukraine in what was an unprecedented action that our generation has not seen. Vast areas were taken over rapidly by Russian forces who carried out atrocities unseen since World War 2 on a peaceful country and its population. As Ukraine pushed back, untold horrors were discovered in areas that were liberated from the occupying forces. Aid rushed into Ukraine to help those in need and who were considered at-risk and vulnerable. But with all the news coverage of the people, there was one innocent and vulnerable population left to fend for themselves for the most part.

The animals.

Global Animal Rescue And Response (GARR) has had a presence in Ukraine working in various capacities since less than 30 days after the war began. In the past two years, our team has forged strategic and trusted relationships and partnerships with agencies and groups in Ukraine. After a year and a half of direct ground operational rescue work, GARR was founded in June 2023. Our mission was simple....... To take the experience and knowledge built upon in 16 months of working in Ukraine and maximize it to help the animals.

So far we have had three mission trips to Ukraine as GARR, during which we have saved/helped more than 2,500 animals in need. Our focus as well is to help the people who help the animals by supplying them with much needed food and medical care for the animals they care for through our strategic partners. We are also committed to reuniting as many animals as possible with their owners or finding new homes for the animals we save.

We operate under fire and under threat of not coming home every day we go to the field. We do this for the animals and are the only group that we are aware of from outside of Ukraine solely dedicated to frontline and high risk evacuations from the combat zones of animals.

Each four to six week trip costs us roughly $9,000-$12,000USD depending on flights, fuel, and unexpected ground expenses such as vehicle repairs. We have also had to buy animals from owners to get them to safety so the owners could use those funds to evacuate themselves. All of our team are volunteers, and no one at GARR receives any payment for their time and skills. This is our calling and we are answering it. 100% of donations go directly to operational costs for these missions.

We hope you will help us to continue to help those in need in their greatest time of need. GARR is a 501c3 IRS not for profit, and all donations are 100% tax deductible.

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