Quick Links:

• Donate to help animals survive the war in Ukraine.

• BARKS podcast with Dr. Marina Bayeva: Hear updates on the use of funding and the animals benefiting from your generous support.

Lifelong animal welfare advocate, Dr. Marina Bayeva, began a grassroots campaign to help animals survive the war in Ukraine. On May 4, the Pet Professional Guild (PPG) streamed an informative and inspiring live discussion with Dr. Bayeva, veterinarian Dr. Paula Klek, and members of PPG’s Shelter & Rescue committee. Meet the the people behind the campaign and listen to hear how your generous contributions are being used right now.

Marina Bayeva

Marina Bayeva, MD, PhD was born and raised in Dnipro, Ukraine and is a Fellow in Hospital-Based Psychotherapy at The Austen Riggs Center in Massachusetts. Dr. Bayeva’s devotion to animal welfare causes began in childhood. She collected lunch scraps from the cafeteria for street cats while she convinced her parents to let her have a cat of her own, adding to their menagerie of guinea pigs, hamsters and birds. Dr. Bayeva’s parents still live in Dnipro, where her aid efforts to local shelters and rescue organizations have been focused. She currently shares her home with two rescued cats Herman and Tyson and her rescued dog, Henry, who loves to steal Impossible burgers from the freezer.

Paula Klek

Paula Klek, DVM is a first-generation Ukrainian-American and a practicing veterinarian in Massachusetts. Dr. Klek graduated from The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1994. She shares her life with three dogs: Nattie, Bleu and Graysea, and an African Gray parrot named Quixote.

Holden Svirsky

Holden Svirsky, CTC, CSAT is a canine behavior consultant in Massachusetts. She is the Chair of PPG’s Shelter & Rescue committee and sits on PPG’s Advocacy Panel. Holden is a graduate of the Academy for Dog Trainers and a Certified Separation Anxiety Trainer. Holden is a second-generation Ukrainian-American. She currently shares her life with her Yakutian Laika dog, Zymova Zirka, which means “Winter’s Star.”

Please donate now to help animals survive the war in Ukraine. Help us reach the goal of $20,000; we are more than halfway there!

And, to all of you who have already become part of this helper community, thank you!

For further reading, please see:

The Pets Left Behind in Ukraine Need You – Here’s How You Can Help Today!