Ep 28 Ukraine Intro teaser

Between the 4th and 6th of July, 30 to 60% of animals in the US go missing due to fireworks. In Ukraine, the war has been ongoing for over two years, with bombs going off daily. The International Fund for Animal Welfare is working to help shelters and rescue displaced and injured animals. Similar to the zoo in Berlin during World War II, zoos in Ukraine have also been affected. Over half a million dogs have been abandoned in Ukraine. Pet owners are forced to leave their pets behind while trying to keep their families safe. This highlights the devastating consequences of war and the importance of making informed decisions to prevent it. 3, 2, 1. You know how here in the U.S., prior to the 4th of July, we get all these notices about keeping our animals inside because of all the fireworks? Do you know that it's also estimated 30 to 60% of animals go missing every year between the 4th and 6th of July? Now that's pretty crazy, isn't it? Well, here's something crazier. Imagine this. You live in this country that gets invaded. It's got bombs going off almost every day. In Ukraine, that war started February 24th over two years ago, and those bombs have been going off almost every day since then. Now let's just leave the politics aside. Let's just talk animals. Can you imagine what's going on in these animals' minds? These bombs are going off every day. Now compare 4th of July to a war. IFAW, the International Fund for Animal Welfare, has been working relentlessly to help to rescue shelters that are still there, and all these animals have been displaced and injured. Now, have you ever heard that story about the zoo in Berlin during World War II and how it got bombed? There was a movie about it. It was called The Zookeeper's Wife. If you haven't seen it, you should watch it because it's pretty informative. It's crazy sad and this amazing story. But guess what? Ukraine's got zoos too, and yep, sure enough, it's a similar story of all these animals being displaced. Also, did you know, just think about it, Ukraine's this big country. It's got wild animals. They've been infected too. And alone, it's believed that over half a million dogs have been abandoned while people have had to flee. Now can you imagine being a pet owner? Your pet runs off, and because it's scared, you've got to try and find it. But then you're desperately trying to get them and your family to somewhere safe. Now you're put in a situation, you can't find your dog, and you've got to make a decision to leave them behind because you've got to save your family. Can you imagine how hard that must have been? Katrina Krista of IFAW joins me. And when you learn of everything that they've been doing to support all these animals and the humans that stayed behind, you're going to be really impressed. But maybe, most importantly, you, as I did, will learn several more reasons why war is such a horrible choice and maybe as we get more and more informed, we can make better decisions in the world moving forward. This episode has a really special meaning to me, and I really hope it has a special meaning for you too.