Ukraine April - May 2022 Finding Topaz

From then on for the next two months I was in Ukraine I decided to use my own money and resources to help small animal rescues that were local to the country and could tell me what it was they needed help with. These were people who were most affected by the war. People who truly gave their all to the animals in their care. I chose to rely on myself as often as I could and a small group of other independent rescuers. Together we were able to provide food, medicine, and water to animals and families in need in the areas that had not been helped.

At the end of the second month in Ukraine a farmer asked online if someone could take one of his dogs as it had been shot in its spine and couldn’t work as a livestock guardian anymore. His farm awfully close to the warfront at the time, located in Kharkiv Obast, Tymchenky so I wasn’t surprised there were not any takers. I stepped up and told him I would be there in two days and asked him to hold off putting down the dog. Back home in America I had a dog that couldn’t use its back legs, but she is the happiest chiweenie you would ever meet so I felt that this dog should get the same chance as her.

When I arrived, the farmer introduced me to a 100-pound Brindle Anatolian Shepherd dog named Topaz who dragged his lower half behind him exactly how my dog Eevee did. He was full of life and ready to keep on living, so I took him with me, and he was my co-pilot for the next 3 weeks rescuing any animal or person we came across that needed help. We had to stay in Kharkiv that night due to the attacks getting more intense, traveling at night time was especially dangerous due to not having any forms of light similar to the blackouts during WW2. Driving into Kharkiv i was stopped by police, this is where i met Igor for the first time. I explained to him where i was staying and as i pointed to the building in the distance a missile went I took him to a veterinary in Pozan, Zamosc and had confirmed that the bullet wounds that took his back legs wouldn’t keep him from living a long life otherwise. Topaz had so much love to give and was very protective of me while in my care.

He had once used his strong upper half to break through a fire door to get to the room I was sleeping in to watch over me. While with me I worked hard to find him a forever home yet i knew in my heart that this boy had imprinted onto me, i had a few possibilites lines up in Canada and America. This unfortunately is where Topaz' story turned for the worst.

There was an american non profit I was in contact with who told me they had specialists who could help Topaz prior to joining my family. What I didn’t know until it was too late was, the British Charity wanted him only for the publicity and recognition before putting him to sleep unnecessarily. They had the most backwards idea that him continuing to live without his back legs was cruel. Despite me being on his legal paperwork as his owner (this allowed me to give him all the necessary care with vet visits while he was with me) they refused to return him. Losing Topaz to another organization who was as despicable as the first I worked with, this made me decide that I couldn't continue as an independent rescuer forever. I needed to start my own non-profit in the coming years if I was ever going to keep something like this from happening again.

My promise to topaz is to make sure every disabled animal gets a chance to be loved and live the full life that they deserve.

After repeatedly running supplies (what I considered the bare minimum to what they kept hoarding and unmoved) from Poland to Ukraine for the organization, I felt that I could be doing so much more. Instead of moving supplies to just another organization warehouse near the Polish and Ukrainian border where it was the safest and the most supplied, I kept pushing how far I could go east into Ukraine to get supplies to where they really needed them.

Traveling to an underfunded shelter in Lutsk, I encountered two things that put me on the path I am now on. One was missile fire near me that helped make clear that I couldn't be wasting time anymore with this non-profit. Second was seeing for my own eyes Ukrainians and animals that were suffering due to that organization's corruption. While there I met Olga and with her spent all the time I could to care for the oldest and the most disabled dogs. Each one received brush, nail trim, ear and eye cleaning with flea/tick treatment from me. I promised her to come back with more supplies. I was going to buy what was needed with my own money because I was done working with this organization that was withholding aid.

As I was cleaning and pampering a medium sized hairless dog, we heard the incoming missiles whistling through the air followed by the sirens. All the dogs began howling as a few days before this on Monday 28th of March an oil depot was hit with a missile a mile away from the shelter and the dogs were still traumatized. I looked down at the hairless black skinned dog and he stared at me speaking with his eyes to keep him safe. Thankfully these missiles where patriots from Rzezow Poland, American-made air defense. I hugged the dog and asked Olga what his name was, Olga replied "no name, old dog, been here for six years". I asked to take him and any others that Olga thought would never be rescued because they were too old or disabled. For the safety of their transportation, I could only take seven of them across the border into Poland where I kept them in my rental. I worked to get them adopted or brought to small sanctuaries across Europe with the help of my ally, an ex-army veteran James Prinzi who helped keep me safe. All the dogs I brought back with me were taken to a veterinary hospital. One blind dog sadly passed in my care as he was filled with terminal cancer. He didn’t have long before he had to cross the rainbow bridge but the time, I shared with him I made sure he was treated with love and care for as long as possible.

Emily and James taking one of the rescued dogs from Lutsk to the vets in Zamosc

Topaz at his first vet visit in Zamosc Poland.

This old blind man was on a 3ft chain attached to a damp dog house hidden away in the corner of the yard for over 9yrs. Due to his blindness and loneliness he was at first aggressive but from my experience it was all fear based due to the years of neglect for the majority of his life. Before i met him i could smell his acidic urine, after learning his age and health I realized he would be a hospice case. At that moment i knew i wanted him to experience love for the first time. After bringing him back to Poland to see the vets it was confirmed he was riddled with cancer with only a week at most to live. He experienced his first bath, doggy massage, loved exploring the cottage i was staying in. Sadly, after 3 days it was his time to go to the rainbow bridge.

Topaz at the second vet confirming his health to be good shape despite his paralysis

The dog who was losing his coat caused by stress from Lutsk animal shelter. I named him Tsvirinchik.

Emily & Topaz heading down to Romania after being told there was a specialist vet waiting for him which turned out to be a complete lie, along with other misleading statements from the charity.

Happy healthy Topaz

Emily with the Kharkiv police officers including Igor.