Us, Our Pets and the War

The documentary was filmed in Ukraine during the war. Its subject is the animals left behind. People had to leave their homes. The cats and dogs stayed behind in the blocks of flats. Some of their owners could not come back. Volunteers go into the emptied buildings. They open the doors and bring the animals out. They carry in food and water. The work is not limited to pets. There are lions and tigers in the country’s zoos as well. Moving them somewhere safe is a task of its own. The film follows that effort step by step. The war itself goes on in the background. The account moves between hope and loss. The seventy nine minute documentary is carried by the voices of the volunteers, a Canadian and Ukrainian production Anton Ptushkin finished in 2024.