West Vancouver man returns home after caring for pets left behind in Ukraine

When his plane landed at Vancouver International Airport on Wednesday, retired tech executive Dan Fine had mixed feelings, telling CTV News, "Oh my gosh it feels great to be home, but I want to turn back and go back, because I miss the animals."

The 63-year-old West Vancouverite spent a month at an animal shelter on the Polish/Ukrainian border, volunteering with an organization that’s rescuing and caring for upwards of a million pets left behind when their owners fled the war.

“It is exhausting being there. It’s 16, 18 hour days, every day. The dogs have to be walked, their cages need to be cleaned, they need to be fed, you can’t stop. You can’t take a day off,” said Fine.

Some of the dogs lost limbs in the Russian attacks. “We are buying wheelchairs for them, and we are trying to help these animals. Some of them are paralyzed, it’s just horrific what’s happened to them,” said Fine, who added the animals were all suffering from mental anguish as well.

“We domesticated all these dogs, we taught them to be pets. And now they are turned out on the streets having to fend for themselves again, and they lost those skills,” said Fine.

The organization is microchipping all the dogs that it rescues from Ukraine, and is hoping some of them can eventually be reunited with their owners, or find new homes.

“These dogs just need to be loved. And I know they’re going to miss their parents, it would be heartbreaking for me to lose mine. But I would want to know that he ended up with someone who cared for him as much as I care for my dog,” said Fine.

There are also efforts underway to transport some of the rescued pets to Canada.

“There is actually a veterinarian in Toronto who I have been in contact with who’s going to try to bring some of the animals here to Canada,“ said Fine. “I can get the dogs and the cats, we just need to get a plane and get Canada to say OK, and we are good to go.”

While Fine has now returned home to West Vancouver, his efforts to help the abandoned animals are just beginning.

He has created the Ukrainian War Animals Relief Fund which he’s in the process of getting registered as a non-profit in Canada. It’s currently accepting donations on GoFundMe.

Fine is also helping guide other Canadians who want to volunteer with abandoned pets in Ukraine.

“It’s really important you be committed when you get over there,” he said. “This is not a vacation, this is not a spa, there are no nice hotels.”

Fine says for him, the experience was life changing. “I’ve never done anything like this. I always volunteer for things, but nothing like this. I met some of the most interesting people I’ve ever met, and done some of the most fulfilling work I’ve ever done.”

Work he says will now continue from Canada.