Following up on our post about the horrific missile and drone strikes that tore through Ukraine a couple of nights ago, we want to share the story of a very brave little dog who embodies exactly why our frontline teams refuse to give up.

When volunteers rescued this beautiful boy from the frontlines back in April and brought him to Ksenia’s in Kramatorsk, she knew exactly what to name him: Druzhok. In English, it means "Little Friend." It’s a fitting name for a dog who has survived so much.

Druzhok was originally found abandoned in Druzhkivka—a town just a short distance down the road from Kramatorsk, right in the thick of the frontline Donetsk region.

Sadly, the safety Druzhok found with Ksenia was blown away on May 18th when a devastating cluster munition attack struck very near to their shelter. While the shrapnel from these bombs kills anything in their path, it was the sheer force of the blast wave that knocked Druzhok unconscious and triggered severe convulsions.

Thanks to Ksenia and the team’s actions, Druzhok is now stable, but his scars run incredibly deep. Dr. Lach is working directly with Ksenia and the vets to treat the blast injuries to Druzhok’s lungs.

Emotionally, his anxiety is through the roof, leaving him with pretty much constant diarrhoea. The sounds of war have left him deeply traumatised. You can’t really get much louder than these particular types of bombs as they explode in the air; Ksenia, who survived this type of shelling around her own house a few years ago, says it is still one of the most terrifying things she has ever heard in her life.

But Druzhok is a fighter. As you can see in these photos, he is slowly, bravely learning to trust humans again.

Pen is returning to Ukraine next week, and Druzhok is top of his mind. We are hoping he will be well enough to be placed on Pen’s next evacuation list, allowing us to move him out of danger to much safer shelters in western Ukraine, where he can truly heal before being rehomed to a local family. Tune in over the next few days to see how the "Op. Kramatorsk" dogs and cats are now doing at these shelters.

We can only keep saving dogs like Druzhok because of YOUR incredible support. Please consider donating today to help us fund his ongoing medication, care, and vital evacuation journey.

Donate here: https://www.nowzad.com/support-us