The bond between a person and their pet knows no bounds, capable of enduring even the horrors of war.
On the front lines of Eastern Ukraine, Sooke volunteer Jesse Adams experiences firsthand just how unbreakable those bonds can be.
“When you love something, you’ll put yourself in the way of danger to take care of it, to make sure it’s safe,” he says. “Ukrainians love their animals, and from what I’ve seen, they will do anything to help protect those animals, even if it means putting their own life in danger.”
The co-founder of Sooke-based RainCoast Dog Rescue Society, along with two other volunteers from Victoria, has been in the war-torn country for three months, volunteering with Animal Rescue Kharkiv to help evacuate animals from some of the most dangerous communities in the Donbas region.
While some animals are strays, others are cherished family pets, their owners desperate to relocate them away from danger.
“Sometimes some people don’t want to leave at all; they stay, but they want their animals to go,” says Adams. “They’ll allow their animals to leave to safer regions, usually with relatives, distant family or friends, until they can be evacuated too.”
In other cases, there is no owner to make that decision.
“Sadly, some of these people have been killed and their animals are still there on the properties, or in the house, trapped … and we go in to get them out,” says Adams.
The rescue team carries out around five missions a week, saving anywhere between 30 to 60 animals each operation. Adams estimates they have helped between 700 to 1,000 animals in the time he has been there, the vast majority of them cats and dogs.
He has come to the aid of more unusual animals, too, such as a chinchilla, hedgehog, turtle, and even a goat.
“I can’t say I’ve ever really rescued a goat like that,” says Adams.
None surprised him more than a strange-looking creature named Bonya.
“We had come around the corner with a bunch of dogs that we were taking, and this woman was just standing there with this animal, and she just asked us in the moment to please take it on,” recalls Adams.
In the woman’s arms was a raccoon dog, a canine species native to Asia, most closely related to foxes.
The critter had been rescued from a zoo within a front-line city that had been badly bombed and then occupied by Russians. Living with its rescuer and her cat, the normally wild animal became an unlikely but much-loved family pet.
“I thought it was a badger at first,” says Adams. “I did not even know raccoon dogs existed until we came around the corner – it just opened up my eyes to the world.”
Adams says Bonya has now been moved to a wildlife sanctuary in a safer region, which coincidentally has another raccoon dog.
“I hope she can be reunited with that animal one day,” he adds. “All we know is the animal is safe, well taken care of, and in a good place, and that’s all that matters at the moment.”
This is Adams’ third time in Ukraine. After Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, he volunteered to help transport animals across the border to other countries, returning later that year to help rescue animals from cities on the front line, including nine lions from Odessa Zoo.
As for why he keeps coming back, Adams points to his Ukrainian heritage on his father’s side, as well as his military background, but ultimately it’s his passion for animals that is the biggest draw.
“I just want to try to make a difference here,” he says. “You can’t always explain why you want to do things, you just know you want to do them.”
Despite his experience, Adams says a “healthy amount of fear” keeps him and his team focused as drones, missiles, artillery shells and other warfare constantly threaten the areas where they work.
“You don’t always know what’s going to happen from one turn to the next, and it’s something you constantly have to be aware of,” he says. “You’ll hear very loud explosions far away, very close to you; you can hear the buzzing in the sky –it’s such a sound that you’ll never forget, and it’s always questionable whether you’re going to make it out that day or not.
“It’s brutal, it’s war. There is a lot of destruction, suffering, and you just try to navigate your way through the best you can to help.”
As the war continues, Adams is currently applying for a temporary residence permit to allow him to stay in Ukraine beyond the 90 days allowed for a visitor, as well as supporting RainCoast’s efforts on Vancouver Island.
“I hope the war ends sooner than later, like anyone, but I’m just going to continue to help the best I can and be here,” he says. “I’m grateful to be able to help whatever life that I can, because all animals matter, all these lives matter – no matter how small or how big – I think we need to remember that.”
To support the efforts in Ukraine, donations can be made via RainCoast Dog Rescue Society, with a note that the money is for Animal Rescue Kharkiv: raincoastdogrescue.com/donate.
READ MORE: NOAH-LIKE MISSION: Sooke dog rescue saves 9 lions from war-torn Ukrainian zoo.
Beyond rescue: Sooke animal lover fights for pets, people, and policy change.