Dog with ‘horrible injuries’ rescued in Ukraine. Now he’s looking for a home in Florida
A German shepherd is needing a peaceful place to spend the rest of his life after being rescued from an active war zone, a Florida shelter says.
Crater, 6, was living in the Luhansk region of Ukraine when he was spotted by K9 Global Rescue, according to an Oct. 23 Facebook post from the Humane Society of Pinellas.
Luhansk is a Russian-occupied city in the Donbas region of Eastern Ukraine, and is at the center of the ongoing conflict between the two countries.
The rescue team found Crater with “horrible injuries,” the humane society said, resulting in “mangled” ears and portions of his skin missing.
Crater had an open wound running down his back and had injured his shoulder, the shelter said.
Needing help, K9 Global Rescue brought Crater to Poland where he received medical care, according to the post.
But Crater needed more than just a veterinarian — he needed a safe home.
In May, the rescue organized a foster home for Crater, according to the shelter, but for unknown reasons the foster fell through and Crater was alone again.
Instead, Crater was brought to the Humane Society of Pinellas in Clearwater.
“On arrival, Crater received medical care from our team,” the shelter said in the Facebook post. “He does suffer from anxiety and overstimulation behaviors such as jumping, pawing and mouthing when excited or frustrated.”
The shelter said they have worked on training Crater to help with these behaviors since he arrived in Florida.
Now, the shelter is hoping to find a sanctuary for Crater that can keep up his training and provide the special support that he needs.
“We truly want the best for Crater and his future and need our animal network to help us find the best sanctuary for him,” the shelter said. “While we do not know a lot about Crater’s past, we do know his future can be very bright with the help of our animal network.”
Jennifer Johnson, who says she is a behavior technician with the shelter, wrote on Facebook in July that Crater has been an “excellent student” in his training so far, but will need to be placed with a more experienced dog owner.
“He needs a mindful, compassionate, and probably experienced friend to help him on the next stage of his journey to the life he so deserves,” she wrote in the post.
More information about the adoption process can be found on the shelter’s website.
Clearwater is about 25 miles west of Tampa.
This story was originally published October 23, 2023 at 2:14 PM with the headline "Dog with ‘horrible injuries’ rescued in Ukraine. Now he’s looking for a home in Florida."
