Ontario vet travels to Ukrainian border to care for animals of refugees
Standing inside an animal shelter near the Ukrainian border, veterinarian Cliff Redford is holding a baby goat named Mya. Redford says this animal is symbolic of what he is seeing over there.
"It's definitely been more emotional, more heart breaking than I anticipated," he said.
Redford owns an animal hospital in Markham, Ont. He came to Poland 11 days ago in the hopes of helping.
He tells the story of that baby goat, saying she came to the border with an old woman. The woman was fleeing the war.
"This little goat was her only family," he said. "She said in broken English, I will be back when the war is over."
The woman, like so many, had to carry on, while people like Redford are caring for the animals that cannot make the journey.
"They're displaced, they're hurt, they're scared. Just like the people and unfortunately they have nowhere to go so they're ending up in these shelters."
Speaking from Przemsyl, on the Polish side of the border, Redford and his 21-year-old daughter Emily have been working at a shelter nearby.
Redford says some animals have been injured in the chaos as millions flee their homes, others actually injured in Russian attacks.
Recently, the Polish government stopped stray animals from crossing the border as a mean of preventing disease outbreak among all of the refugees coming from Ukraine.
Redford and a few colleagues made a trip into Lviv.
"We ended up actually saying, if the animals can't come to us for us to take care of them, we're going to them," he said.
They brought over 500 pounds of food, basic medical supplies, and antibiotics to a shelter that has 300 dogs and has been cut off from its supplier in Russia.
In Lviv, he saw a city prepared for a possible attack, prepared if the war comes further west.
"It became very very real all of the sudden, where we were and what people were dealing with," he said.
Redford will leave this weekend and through he is overwhelmed by the enormity of what is happening, he is helping. He says he also has found a new calling.
"I'm going to be doing this for the rest of my life," he said. "I'm going to be volunteering and rescuing animals and it's really given me a new passion."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Still so much love between us,' Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
What to know about avian influenza in dairy cows and the risk to humans
Why is H5N1, or bird flu, a concern, how does it spread, and is there a vaccine? Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about avian influenza.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
opinion The special relationship between King Charles and the Princess of Wales
Royal commentator Afua Hagan writes that when King Charles recently admitted Catherine to the Order of the Companions of Honour, it not only made history, but it reinforced the strong bond between the King and his beloved daughter-in-law.
Pro-plastic lobbyist presence at UN talks is 'troubling,' say advocates
Environmentalist groups are sounding the alarm about a steep increase in the number of pro-plastic lobbyists at the UN pollution talks taking place this week.
'Too young to have breast cancer': Rates among young Canadian women rising
Breast cancer rates are rising in Canada among women in their 20s, 30s and 40s, according to research by the University of Ottawa (uOttawa).
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
$70M Lotto Max winners kept prize a secret from family for 2 months
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Trump's lawyers grill ex-tabloid publisher as 1st week of hush money trial testimony nears a close
After prosecutors' lead witness painted a tawdry portrait of “catch-and-kill” tabloid schemes, defence lawyers in Donald Trump's criminal trial on Friday sought to dig into an account of the former publisher of the National Enquirer and his efforts to protect Trump from negative stories during the 2016 election.