Runa

Runy’s first world was a forest. Not one associated with peace, quiet, and safety. It was a forest where unwanted litters, abandoned puppies, and animals no one is looking for appear. The ground instead of a bed. Bushes instead of a home. Hunger, cold, diseases, and chance deciding which of them would survive another day. Runy was there with her sister. Two small female puppies without vaccinations, without protection, and without a human who should have appeared by their side much earlier. We named her Runy because from the beginning she reminded us of something forest-like, a bit wild, a small mark left somewhere amidst it all.

This forest is in Ukraine. And here begins the second dimension of this story, because war leaves behind not only ruins, empty homes, and people who had to flee. It also leaves thousands of animals. Abandoned dogs, unspayed females, subsequent litters born by roadsides, on the outskirts of towns, and precisely in forests. No one guides them by the paw through the first weeks of life. No one monitors vaccinations. No one guarantees that if they get sick, someone will even find them. There are many more such small sisters like Runy and her sister there. They were found. Both were admitted to the clinic with severe enteritis. Treatment and diagnostics were started, and a rapid CPV test was also performed. One of them did not survive.

And then Runy got to know her second world. A few white walls of a hospital room, a pad, an IV cannula in a small paw, medications, tests, and more hours of observation. This is all that fits into her reality now. Her body is weakened, she still requires hospitalization and intensive care, and each subsequent day means further treatment and additional costs. Her sister is no longer lying next to her. Runy is alone, and the entire fight is now for her. We don’t want to wonder how much more she will endure or make promises that no one can guarantee. We just want to give her everything she needs as long as her small body is still fighting.

Because there is a third world. Runy doesn’t know it yet. There is no forest where a puppy is left alone, nor hospital walls behind which each day is another stage of treatment. There is a bowl that will always be full. There is a safe place to sleep. There is a human who will notice when something hurts and won’t disappear when problems arise. There is the life of a dog that grows, gains strength, runs, and explores the world without the need for a constant struggle for survival. That’s exactly where we want to lead Runy.

One sister could not be saved, and we cannot change that. But Runy is still in the clinic. She is still breathing, still receiving treatment, and still has a chance to leave this place. Therefore, we ask for your help in covering her hospitalization, medications, tests, and further care. Help us guide her through this second world so that one day she can get to know the third. She didn’t choose the first. She needs the second to survive. We want to give her the third together with you. 

Runy’s sister will remain in our memory