The first 72 hours after a flood or a fire
Animal disaster relief is a race against two clocks: the water going down and the attention going away. Both run out faster than the animals recover.
Wildfire animal rescue and flood work share one weakness: the equipment is cheap and the logistics are expensive. Panels for a temporary animal shelter cost less than the fuel it takes to bring them and the two weeks of feeding that follow.
How a response runs
- Hours 0 to 6
Contact with local volunteers, a list of addresses with animals, and a decision on which routes are passable.
- Hours 6 to 24
First removals: animals in immediate danger, then those without food or water. Triage on site, treatment in the nearest clinic.
- Day 2 to 5
Temporary animal shelter set up: crates, water, feed, separation of sick animals, a register with photographs of every animal taken.
- Week 2 to 6
Reuniting animals with owners who can be found, treatment for the rest, transfer to shelters with space.
- Month 2 onwards
The part nobody funds: rebuilding fences, roofs, pens and water lines so the same shelter can operate next season.
What a mobile team carries
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Catching and transport
Crates in three sizes, nets, gloves, leads and muzzles, plus a vehicle that can be loaded quickly and cleaned afterwards.
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Emergency shelter for animals
Panels, tarpaulin, bedding and heating, enough to hold sixty animals for a fortnight while permanent places are found.
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Veterinary triage
Field kit for wounds, dehydration, smoke inhalation and hypothermia, plus vaccines against what spreads in crowded temporary housing.
What owners can do before a disaster
Most animals lost in floods and fires were never going to be found, because nobody prepared for the ten minutes when a decision had to be made.
- Keep a carrier or crate per animal where you can reach it in the dark.
- Photograph each animal and store the photo somewhere you can open without your home computer.
- Keep vaccination documents scanned, so a shelter can take the animal without a fresh examination.
- Write your phone number on the collar as well as in the microchip database.
- Agree in advance who collects the animals if you are not home when it happens.
Questions about disaster work
Do you work outside Ukraine?
Our teams are based in Ukraine. Elsewhere in Europe we support partner organisations with funding and equipment, plus coordination, rather than sending our own crews into someone else's operation.
What happens to animals that are never claimed?
They enter the shelter network, are treated and sterilised, and are put up for adoption. Around a third of animals taken in a flood are reunited with owners, and the rest need a new home.
Can I volunteer for a disaster response?
Yes, with two conditions: you can leave within a day, and you accept that most of the work is carrying crates and cleaning, not carrying animals out of water.
Keep a response fund ready
Disaster work cannot wait for a fundraising campaign. A standing fund is what lets a team leave on the first day rather than the fourth.