Chronicles of the Traveling Vet: HVSN in a war zone?

Colleen Lambo, DVM, PhD, MS

March 3, 2025

Veterinary professionals may top the list of overachievers who live to serve. We love animals (and even some people) and can’t easily be held back when we know there is a critter in need. When answering such a call, I met dozens of some of the world’s best people who were similarly motivated, and you may be too.

Ukraine was invaded just a little over three years ago (Feb 24th, 2022). Astonished and ignorant about how this could happen in our modern world, my heart and brain have been continually broken by the Russian attacks.

When the war began, I applied to volunteer with Vets Without Borders when they posted in Poland to support refugees. I wasn’t needed at the time, but I lit up when I heard Dr. Gemma from WorldWide Vets speak about her volunteer program at WVC. I was undeterred by stories of their harrowing brushes with Russian snipers and shelling in Kherson, and I pestered her in person and with follow-up emails immediately after her talk.

Dr. Gemma accepted my application to join for back-to-back volunteer programs stationed near Lviv in April 2024. I briefly hesitated when the welcome packet detailed the combat applied tourniquets, hemostatic gauze, and chest seals I would be required to carry on me at all times — but I placed the supply order and booked flights nonetheless.

Volunteering in Ukraine

The program was unexpectedly magical. In the first two weeks, as eleven pioneers, we worked to set up camp and function efficiently. I then had a week-long break where I explored Lviv and Kyiv solo and braved a brief trek to Kherson with the teams’ Ukrainian vet, Dr. Olha. Finally, there were two more weeks of sterilization with an entirely new team of sixteen volunteers — I felt fortunate, strong, and unfathomably humbled.

The Ukrainians we met were carrying on with their lives despite the war. They don’t flinch when the air raid sirens sound, or in Kherson, when the shelling is close enough to startle the birds and rattle the windows. They were considerate, generous, and tolerant. Oksana and Oleg with their two sons worked tirelessly to care for the dogs and cats at their shelter (Brody Shelter), invited the community to partake in our veterinary services, and fed us endless pots of borscht and bread.

In total, we sterilized over 600 animals, aided a stork with a broken wing, assisted the community with dozens of sick pets, met the Mayor of Brody, attended local Easter celebrations, and spoke with three different news/documentary crews.

There were stray animal concerns prior to the war, and as over 6.8 million refugees fled the country, at least a million pets were left behind, increasing the stray population exponentially. Within the first months of war, there had been at least 2 confirmed cases of rabies spreading to humans, and within the first year, there had been a 60% rise in the number of animals in shelters with even more on the streets. In order to decrease suffering and prevent a rabies epidemic across Europe, an estimated 120,000 dogs and cats had to be sterilized and vaccinated yearly.

Attempting to chip away at this astonishing goal, there are many wonderful animal groups currently supporting Ukraine, and most work well together. We met a transporter who brings supplies to the frontline and across borders who stayed and assisted with our work for three days. We donated boxes of prevention to the organizers from Clean Futures Fund (formerly Dogs of Chernobyl), having completed a mission on the front lines and on their way back to Chernobyl. Dr Gemma met with organizers from Greater Good Charities, following their mission in Lviv, and they left us with cases of unused gear.

Dedicated individuals will have no difficulty finding a mission to support financially or with boots on the ground as the animal welfare concerns in Ukraine are extreme. A documentary has been made about the Ukrainian animal work since the onset of war (War Tails movie), which premiered in June, 2024.

Relief work and the ability to volunteer around the world

I’m fortunate amongst the volunteer team — everyone expressed remorse for their work limitations and inability to stay three weeks longer to continue our work or at least a short while longer to see a bit of the country. Those who know me are aware that I have no boss and work relief on my own schedule, thanks to the convenience of Roo. I only had to worry about finances and travel insurance for my five week trip.

Getting travel insurance to go into a war zone was no small feat, but it paled in comparison to my colleagues’ begging for PTO and flying into Warsaw mere hours before our train to Lviv departed because they didn’t have the time or money required to arrive early enough to enjoy the city as I did… I’m pretty happy with my life choices.

Worldwide Vets hosts a mix of volunteer and pay-to-play activities around the world. From darting rhinos out of a helicopter in Zimbabwe to working with poverty stricken communities in Asia, you can find a fit that warms your soul. Dr. Gemma won the WSAVA 2024 Future Leader Award for all the work she has accomplished through the programs she's orchestrated, and she works tirelessly to offer impactful experiences that encourage participant growth and learning while benefiting communities.

I spent my time in Ukraine learning different techniques from amazing surgeons, gaining 5-10 pounds due to a love of borscht, sterilizing animals, and falling in love with yet another culture. Mission One even threw me a birthday party for the ages! My emergency tourniquets remained securely in my bag, even during my time at the front line with shelling less than 2 blocks from where I stayed.

Veterinary volunteering overseas

I have volunteered with animals both domestically and internationally. The BP oil spill, Panhandle Fires, a tiger sanctuary in Colorado, a zoo in South Africa, London wildlife rehab, and various shelters.

Being overseas has a particular set of challenges that some of our team members were not prepared for. We operated under Dr. Gemma’s license and practiced within her guidelines as well as those of the shelters’ owners and pet owners.

In many countries, including Ukraine, sterilization is not commonplace and may not be welcome in personal pets. In the US, we’ve all had to maintain a poker-face when speaking with the cherry-eyed, dyspneic Frenchie’s owner who “may want to breed them,” but abroad, this can be a cultural concern, where animals exist to procreate and it is seen as unfair to take that life-purpose away.

Euthanasia was an even tougher barrier as we were not always allowed to end suffering when it was the only course of intervention remaining for a seriously sick or injured critter. The vegetarians in the group existed on French fries, salads, and the occasional veggie Borscht.

Of course, being in a war zone is a challenge itself. There are no flights into Ukraine, so we had to fly into Poland and take an overnight, immensely-uncomfortable, multi-train journey into Lviv. Internet was not consistently available or strong, and medical supplies were difficult to acquire and expensive. Military helicopters flew over often, we were woken up by fighter jets whizzing overhead, and there were occasional power outages. But we were in a remote and “safe” part of Western Ukraine and felt well-shielded from the true horrors of war.

Despite the seemingly unwelcome warnings above, the 2025 missions for Worldwide Vets were full before we began the 2024 missions.

Donating to support these efforts

For anyone who didn’t make the cut, would hesitate to travel toward active combat, or doesn’t have the dedicated time-off, we created the Donate a Day fundraiser. In order to support animal health and welfare in Ukraine and combat a rabies outbreak across Europe, you can work one day in the name of Ukraine (or a partial day, we won’t audit you) by clicking on the link.

What would you do if your time was entirely your own to control? Spend your birthday volunteering in a war zone? Book a trip to see the northern lights at their presumed peak? Or spend a week on a dive boat in the Caribbean? Personally, I‘ll do it all — but with Roo, you can choose your own adventure.

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Follow Dr. Lambo on Instagram to stay up to date with all her latest adventures!

Related resources

Chronicles of the Traveling Vet: HVSN in a war zone?

Volunteering in Ukraine

Relief work and the ability to volunteer around the world

Veterinary volunteering overseas

Donating to support these efforts

Related resources

Essential Qualifications and Skills to Become a Veterinary Assistant

Key Qualities Every Successful Veterinarian Must Have

Chronicles of the Traveling Vet: Community Emergency Response

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