One of the most difficult aspects of travel in Eastern Europe is seeing the way animals are treated here. Granted, animals also suffer horribly on the industrialized farms in the West, but here the stray dogs and chained up horses are constantly in your face in the villages and by the road.
This morning we encountered two puppies that someone had apparently abandoned by the motel we stayed at. The surly owner explicitly forbade us to feed them, as "we have so many dogs here already". Lina was still able to sneak some bread to one of them, but we left with a heavy heart, knowing that even if we had been able to feed these dogs, there are thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, more all over the country.
The best solution (if you can't abandon your life back home and move permanently to Ukraine to start an animal shelter) is probably to donate money to a reliable animal rights organization. We know one that runs a shelter in Viborg, Russia, but maybe some of our readers have tips about people helping animals in Ukraine?
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