Student vet flies to aid of Chernobyl’s dogs
STUDENT veterinary nurse Ashley Pounder put her skills to great use on a mercy mission to help Chernobyl’s abandoned dogs.
Ashley, who works at Parker and Crowther Vets in Birkdale, volunteered to help dogs living around the nuclear power plant - the scene of a catastrophic accident in 1986.
Volunteering with Clean Futures Fund, which runs aid projects for communities affected by industrial accidents, she was part of a delegation working with the Dogs of Chernobyl project.
When the Chernobyl power plant’s No4 reactor exploded and spread radioactive materials into the environment, a 30km exclusion zone was set up and more than 120,000 people were evacuated from cities and communities.
Evacuees were not allowed to take anything with them for fear of contamination, so pets were abandoned.
The descendants of abandoned dogs now live as strays around the power plant or roam throughout the exclusion zone.
Ashley last month helped vaccinate dogs and puppies against rabies and other diseases, neutering, worming and providing medical treatment to stray dogs.
Ashley said: “It was fast paced and busy and there were lots of dogs coming through for treatment.
“It was sad and difficult, and you have to keep reminding yourself that they are not pets. They don’t know anything different to the lifestyle they have been born into.
“Population control and disease control were the two key aims of the work. Rabies and distemper are prevalent in the zone so vaccinating the dogs was important, as well as neutering.
“It was great experience from start to finish and I really enjoyed my skills being utilised for the greater good of the dogs.”
Many of the dogs are malnourished, have been exposed to rabies by wild predators such as wolves in the zone, and are in dire need of medical attention.
Every year, puppies are born at the power plant, and the workers take care of them during the harsh Ukrainian winter.