Paws of Good

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«Paws of Good» is a joint charity project of the NGO «Give a paw» (Znamyanka, Kirovohrad region) and Lizard Soft. We want to help volunteers improve the living conditions of homeless animals and eradicate cruel treatment of them. In the conditions of the war – unfortunately, but it was quite predictable – these problems only intensified.

As of now, the team of Bohdana Stoyan, head of «Give a Paw», consists of four volunteers who, together with her, answer calls, catch homeless dogs and cats, treat them and even assist the doctor while the sterilization procedures.

With the participation of NGOs, photo exhibitions of animals and «lessons of kindness» are held in schools and kindergartens. There, «Give a paw» volunteers teach, in particular, the rules of behavior with homeless animals, and home care for pets. And, of course, they show photos of animals waiting to be adopted and the results of their work: photos «before» and «after» four-legged homeless ones got into their shelter.

NGO «Give a Paw» exists on the donations of caring people. Lizard Soft regularly provides such support. We assume that cat and dog lovers are the most among IT people. Therefore, of course, we just could not remain indifferent to these pets.

Paws of Good: 2024 in Numbers and Stories

Every tail, every eye full of hope is a story that deserves a happy ending. However, this does not always happen. And even less often, in times of war, when animals are probably not the first thing you worry about.

In 2024, the NGO «Give a Paw» Animal Shelter in Znamyanka in the Kirovohrad region, with which we have worked since 2022, did the impossible to give a new life to more than 200 animals. Among them, every fourth one is disabled, sick, abandoned, and injured as a result of shelling due to the ongoing war. Behind each such number is a «shaggy» soul that had the strength to fight for life. Behind each story of rescue or loss is the «Give a Paw» shelter volunteers' courage, their exhaustion, love, and faith in goodness. And also the experience working with exceptional cases that probably happen once in a lifetime. We will tell you something about them.

Bohdana Stoyan, head of the NGO «Give a Paw»
«This year's discovery was the dog Supchik (ed. Soup), whom we found near the store. He is disabled: his hind legs do not work. He underwent therapy with us and later found his family in the Netherlands. »

Bohdana – a rather straightforward and sometimes tough person – always calls her little inhabitants affectionately: «beauties», «puppies», «kittens», «cuties». Her next story is about «a wonderful animal, Beauty Bo». She was a neglected puppy abandoned near the shelter. Later, a seemingly good family adopted her. But soon Bo was returned. Bo's story had a happy ending thanks to a coincidence: a video about her on social networks won the hearts of a family from Luxembourg. So, Bo's paperwork was done, and she left for the loving foreign family.

The next story is about the cat Kvitka (ed. Flower): she ended up in «Give a Paw» last spring in a terrible condition. She had 2 torn-off paws, a damaged tail, and an injured toe on her third paw. In addition, Kvitka was pregnant. After the amputation, she suffered a severe infection. Having endured everything, Kvitka began waiting for a family. However, there are very few people willing to adopt such special animals.

Kvitka is the only such animal in the shelter.

Kvitka had 2 torn-off paws, a damaged tail, and an injured toe on her third paw

One day, the volunteers received a request from a girl. She wrote that she «would like to take care of a cat or kitten with injuries. » The girl noted that she knew that it was unlikely that anyone would adopt such animals, because «everyone wants healthy ones. ». But she was determined to «give at least one such animal a good life in a family where they would be loved and their health would be taken care of. »

Bohdana Stoyan, head of the NGO «Give a Paw»
«We offered this girl every our pet except Kvitka. Because we had already given up on our dream of finding the family for her. But the girl asked precisely for her. We were very surprised, delighted, and sent a photo. So Kvitka found her Person. »

The story of the dog Makeba is no less painful. He was found in extremely poor condition: he looked like a kangaroo as he walked on his hind legs, leaning a little on his front legs. He underwent four surgeries. Now he is a healthy, gorgeous dog. And he is looking for the pet-parents.

Makeba walked on his hind legs, leaning a little on his front legs. He underwent  four surgeries

In addition to «simple», stray animals, «expensive», pedigree ones also often end up in the shelter. One of them is a Siamese lop-eared cat. Here, he was named Soukharyk (ed. Crouton).

Bohdana Stoyan, head of the NGO «Give a Paw» 
«Soukharyk has problems with his hind legs. This is a common disease of lop-eared animals. We treated him while looking for a family for him. We found them unexpectedly: one morning, the friends came to the shelter to donate a pet stroller. They saw Soukharyk and fell in love. The cat went home the same day. »
Soukharyk has problems with his hind legs. This is a common disease of lop-eared animals

«Dangerous dogs» is another topic in the «Give a Paw» specialists' stories. A recent case is about the pit bull named Nicka. She came into the hands of the volunteers in complete exhaustion and with an abscess in her ear. She was sterilized, treated, and fattened up to… an additional 20 kg. She is now happy in a new family. And this is an occasion to emphasize once again: there are no «killer dogs,» there are owners who, intentionally or through their ignorance, grow dangerous adult animals from cute and gentle puppies. And this is exclusively the fault of people.

However, large dogs are the most problematic in terms of adoption. Among them is Alabai Aya, who was and is one of the most difficult patients of the shelter. Aya has been taken care of for a long time, receiving extremely difficult treatment: her stomach and liver were affected badly, she suffered rickets, pelvic dysplasia, and a torn ligament in her knee. Aya underwent a complex operation and is constantly receiving therapy.

Nicka came into the hands of the volunteers in complete exhaustion and with an abscess in her ear   
Alabai Aya was and is one of the most difficult patients of the shelter. She underwent a complex operation and is constantly receiving therapy

But along with Aya's story, there are others, such as Mila's and Zhula's, two puppy girls from the war zone. Now they live a quiet village life. 

There is Pug Aurora. She had an eye injury, worm infestation, and twisted paws. As a result, problems with the gastrointestinal tract. Now Aurora lives in France, in the city of Chaumont.

Many animals have been cured of enteritis, calcivirus, and other diseases. In the oxygen box, which we, Lizard Soft, donated at the beginning of our cooperation, someone is constantly being treated.

Bohdana Stoyan, head of the NGO «Give a Paw»
«The veterinarians we contact are very surprised and satisfied with the conditions in which we provide medical assistance and treatment. They refer to us for treatment and rehabilitation. They allow us to perform manipulations ourselves so as not to spend money on a hospital.
In our “portfolio,” there are animals that have survived the fractures, and now they are healthy and looking for their loving families. Even though it is not yet a Happy ending, it will definitely be there. »

Bohdana is happy: thanks to the constant support of Lizard Soft, expenses for the most necessary things i.e., food, detergents, basic needs, are always covered. And that if they were collecting money for bags of food, as before, they would hardly take «difficult» animals in. After all, the people are exhausted both morally and physically, and very much financially. So it has become extremely difficult to collect money for pet food.

However, «Give a Paw» has now forgotten about this problem, Bohdana notes. Therefore, the volunteers can afford high-quality vet medicines, high-quality anti-parasite treatments, and regular sterilization of homeless animals. Last year alone, the volunteers of the shelter sterilized 238 stray cats. This is very important, Bohdana is convinced.

Bohdana Stoyan, head of the NGO «Give a Paw»
«We were able to afford to save animals from the war zone. And not 5-10 ones, but hundreds. We arranged the adoption of 276 animals from our shelter. Another 168 animals found families with our help. »

In fact, we are not sure that it is we, Lizard Soft, who are helping «Give a Paw.» It often seems that the opposite is true: they help us believe in the best, enjoy life, whatever it is now, maintain hope, and keep our chins up. Stories like these, people like these, and photos like these do help.

What we are sure of is that animals are not to blame for the suffering they are going through now. Abandoned, injured, sick, they still know how to love, trust, and enjoy life. Sometimes it seems that we should learn this from the shaggy ones. May each of them have a Happy ending story.

JD