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
Leonardo DiCaprio criticizes Ottawa over B.C. salmon farms
Salmon farms have long been a point of contention between environmentalists and fish farmers in British Columbia, but a much bigger net is now being cast on the topic.
Flight from Israel to New Jersey diverted to New York state due to high winds, turbulence
High winds and turbulence have forced a United Airlines flight from Israel to be diverted from its destination of Newark Airport in New Jersey to Stewart International Airport in New Windsor, N.Y..
Vancouver rapper falls on ice during Canucks game performance
The Vancouver Canucks weren’t the only ones who stumbled during Thursday night’s game against the Dallas Stars.
Snow-covered bodies of 2 men from Senegal found in New York woods near Canadian border
Two men from Senegal froze to death were found in the snow of a wooded area close to the Canadian border, New York state police said.
This historical tavern in Toronto is closing after nearly 200 years
An historic downtown Toronto bar is closing its doors next week after nearly 200 years in business.
For years she thought her son had died of an overdose. The police video changed all that
Austin Hunter Turner died in 2017, on a night that his mother has rewound and replayed again and again, trying to make sense of what happened.
Feeling older than you are? It could be how you sleep
Not getting enough sleep may cause you to feel five to 10 years older than you really are, according to two new studies.
Manhattan DA suggests Donald Trump violated gag order with post about daughter of hush-money trial judge
Manhattan prosecutors suggested Friday that Donald Trump violated a gag order in his hush-money criminal case this week by assailing the judge's daughter and making a false claim about her on social media.
Niagara Region 'proactively' declares state of emergency ahead of total solar eclipse
Niagara Region says it has declared a state of emergency 'out of an abundance of caution' as it prepares for an influx of visitors for next month’s total solar eclipse.