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Ukraine war takes a toll on pets

Life for many Ukrainian families has been upended since the beginning of the war with Russia in 2022. Less well known is the impact of the war on some important members of the family pets.

Joerg Mayer is a Professor of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine. He traveled to Ukraine earlier this year where he visited and lectured at the Ukrainian small Animal Veterinary Associations, 20th Congress, and he joined WUGA's Martin Matheny to talk about his experience.

Here's that conversion.

Martin Matheny: The war in Ukraine has changed the lives of pretty much every Ukrainian. How are pets in Ukraine being affected by the ongoing fighting?

Joerg Mayer: Yeah, we obviously know how important pets are to us. And you know, just just imagine the the role of the pet in Ukraine is the same - people consider them as family members.

Unfortunately, there is a huge, huge, huge amount of pets that now have become feral animals
Dr. Joerg Mayer

And suddenly your life is in danger and you have to pack literally your several things in a little suitcase and leave, and and probably one of the most heartbreaking decisions you have to make is like, can you take your pet or do you have to leave it behind?

And unfortunately, there is a huge, huge, huge amount of pets that now have become feral animals.

Matheny: Bleak news for family pets, but there is some good news as well. Can you talk a little bit about how some charities and organizations have stepped up to help meet the needs of of these animals?

Mayer: Yeah. Yeah, it's great. And that, you know, that shows, in dark times, it also shows the the brightest times of mankind. And this is definitely an example of how people, especially in neighboring countries in European countries like Romania, but also for example Italy, rallied and saw that need immediately to travel there, or in the beginning, actually stay on the other side side of the border, on the safe side of the border, and basically welcomed those families with their pets and made sure that they were vaccinated, made sure they were fed, made sure that they got a free health exam.

And as the as the war progressed, those organizations actually then moved into the country and and obviously within Ukraine, there's veterinarians who really dedicate their lives to these animals in need.

Matheny: We know that having pets plays an important role in our mental wellness as as humans, but I also want to talk about the physical health, the public health aspect of this. When cities are impacted by warfare, why is it important to make sure that the animal population stays healthy as well?

Dr. Joerg Mayer
University of Georgia
Dr. Joerg Mayer

Mayer: Yeah, that's great. And as I just quickly mentioned, when you have a domesticated animal that then becomes a feral animal, you know, infectious diseases move in very fast. Obviously these animals are then basically forced to forage on their own, and this is an opportunity for any kind of pathogen to to infect them. And one of the surges that they currently see in these areas is, for example, rabies. The viruses, the pathogens are out there and they're just literally waiting for the opportunity to strike.

When you have a domesticated animal that then becomes a feral animal, infectious diseases move in very fast.
Dr. Joerg Mayer

And this is the perfect opportunity. And then you see a very, very fast spike in those diseases that that have been kept in a kind of a checkmate position while the veterinary community helps those pets.

Matheny: As I mentioned at the top of our discussion, you spoke at the Ukrainian Small Animal Veterinary Association's 20th Congress. How was the mood there?

She says, "we're making a big difference." And she just put a little ginkgo leaf in it and said, "This is a sign of hope and life."
Dr Joerg Mayer

Mayer: Surprisingly positive. They said, you know, the content of your lectures and the lectures themselves are potentially not the most important thing here. The most important thing is your presence, you should support and show our colleagues that we are behind you. And so, we received nothing but signs of gratitude. One of the students actually wrote down on a piece of paper in English, a very heartfelt note that I actually have framed in my house now.

She wrote that she's extremely grateful. She's a young veterinarian and she's extremely grateful. And she kind of apologized that she didn't have a gift to give me. But she says, you know, we're making a big difference. And she just put a little ginkgo leaf in it and said, this is a sign of hope and and life.

Martin Matheny is WUGA's Program Director and a host and producer of our local news program 'Athens News Matters.' He started at WUGA in 2012 as a part-time classical music host and still hosts WUGA's longest-running local program 'Night Music' which is heard on WUGA and GPB Classical. He lives in Normaltown with his wife, Shaye and dog, Murphy.