January 2023
To be even more prepared to protect myself and others while in Ukraine’s warzones I started to study Brazilian Ju jitsu at American Top Team Kore run by Luigi Mondello. A sensi who soon became a role model for me as he was equally passionate about justice, animals and treating veterans with respect. Mondello taught me knife skills as well, which I continue now to this day by attending Atienza Kali lessons. I also took STB (STOP THE BLEED), 2 X TECC Tactical Emergency Casualty Care, and gun safety courses. In January 2023, I returned to Ukraine to continue my work. I aimed to bring much-needed medical supplies, along with eight dog wheelchairs that were donated from Massachusetts. I joined forces with Justin Harrell, a naval master at arms who served for twelve years, an independent rescuer as well at Warsaw Airport in Poland the 4th of January.
After the first week in Poland the rest of our time was spent in Ukraine with the mission of giving help to all who asked while on route to disabled dogs in need of wheelchairs. These dogs were found by connecting online with local shelters in war torn areas. To reach them we had to push through extremely dangerous regions but knowing that they were in need, we dug deep and continued onward through missile fire, over freshly bombed roads until we had fitted a dog for every wheelchair. Halfway through the trip Justin's vehicle broke down. We had not expended all the rescue supplies we were hauling so we decided to part ways. The Ukrainian charity We Ukrainians run by the wonderful Paul Hodgeson loaned a vehicle to me which allowed my mission to continue. One of the places where I assembled a wheelchair was in Kherson after it was recently liberated. I put together that wheelchair for Irina Voronyuk and her rescue dog Red, a senior retriever mix while we were under artillery fire. In that same region we were also fortunate enough to bring a generator donated from Hope Foundation to a disabled man past Kherson in Novodmytrvka.
Collecting the donated wheelchairs from Kelly Watts, a true lover of canines. Emily is holding her disabled chiweenie Eevee who uses a pink wheelchair to get around during hikes and NYC. Eevee was found in a dumpster in Texas 6yrs ago, her rescuer Teresa Kopacki continues to rescue dogs down south.
One thing we had in common before meeting was both of us had been burned by fraudulent organizations in the past. We agreed to only put our efforts toward those who could be trusted and vouched for with first-hand accounts. At the start of our volunteer work, we traveled down to Przmysl. We worked with the magnificent Hope Foundation Shelter that was run Jay Rivera. An amazing man that had with him trusted volunteers and his dog and best friend Ozzy. Hope foundation takes in refugees from the war and was built from the ground up and is continuing to grow. We helped Jay with constructing dividers for additional space and privacy. I admire him greatly as he has continued to push barriers and help families who have experienced unimaginable things. Rivera makes sure every volunteer that enters the Hope Foundation stays professional and has strict rules to maintain comfort for people who have experienced sexual assault.
Bahkmut January 2023