The service dog kennel near Kyiv survived fighting and shelling during the occupation. Dogs got used to explosions, patrolled the town, and warned cynologists about the arrival of shells — a report

Russian troops partially occupied Irpin in early March, but by March 31, the Ukrainian army had liberated the city. For almost a month, the only service dog kennel in Ukraine in Irpin was in the "gray zone" — an army of occupiers stood 500 meters from the dog center. When the Russians occupied Bucha in the first half of March and heavy fighting broke out near Irpin, some of the nursery staff, including women, were evacuated to another dog training center in Vyshneve town. Half of the dogs were transported to a safe place. Only animals that can search for traces and explosives were left in the center because dogs with such abilities could be needed at any time. Cynologists and their animals lived under constant fire, several shells hit the center. Babel journalist Iryna Lopatina went to Irpin to talk to the kennel staff about how service dogs lived during battles, patrolled the streets, helped evacuate people, and the centerʼs mascot — a several-month-old German Shepherd puppy nicknamed Bayraktar — warned everyone about the upcoming shellings.

The dog training center is located near the blown up bridge in Romanivka, under which thousands of civilians were evacuated from shelling in March. The kennel used to be actually in the woods, but in the last few years, developers have built high-rise buildings next to it. Now these residential complexes have many bullet holes and broken windows. On either side of the road there are several burned-out cars in the grass, some of them with visible bullet holes.

Finding a dog training center is easy. Employees of the center said to focus on the yellow-blue iron fence, but the barking of dogs can be heard tens of meters around. Dogs nervously run around the enclosures and bark loudly as soon as they see strangers.

— They see a saboteur in you, — the deputy chief of the center Vesna Loboda jokes.

— We didnʼt detain saboteurs personally, we didnʼt have such calls. However, there were many calls from looters. In wartime, they can be considered our own internal saboteurs. We, as cynologists, together with dogs helped to detain looters right after they committed the crime, investigators worked with them, — the chief of the center, the lieutenant colonel of police Maksym Pishchansky adds.

When the fighting for Gostomel began in the first days of the full-scale war, many people in a panic tried to leave Irpin and surrounding cities. At the same time, they lost many of their bags. Thatʼs why police service received many calls — people were afraid that the lost backpacks could have explosives in them. When the bridge was blown up, people left cars in addition to their luggage. Cynologists with dogs constantly went on such calls, dogs sniffed things and cars, looked for mines and grenades.

— Since February 28, the streets of Irpin have become half-empty, no one was there in the evenings, so we went out on patrol with dogs, helped people with evacuations and showed that there is some authorities in the city, the police, — Pishchansky recalls.

At the beginning of March, part of the staff and half of the thirty service dogs were evacuated from the dog training center. There was almost no one left in the surrounding high-rise buildings — only up to a dozen people who refused to leave despite the persuasion of police and the military.

— On March 7, we saw armored vehicles with Russian infantry near us, they were driving down University Street, but turned around and drove back. I never saw them again. Also on March 5 or 6, a column was moving from the side of Stoyanka, then they shot down an enemy tank near the water canal, they turned around and went to Stoyanka. In fact, since March 7, the surrounding area has become a "gray" area. We guarded the administrative building, and after March 7-8 there were no more police trips. Sometimes people were helped to evacuate on the bridge near Romanivka. But it can be called raids, not full-fledged trips, because there were constant shelling, — says Maxim Pishchansky.

Locals began to drag their dogs to the center — knocking on the gate and asking specialists to take their animals. One dog was simply tied to a fence.

— The main point of evacuation was across the Irpin River in Romanivka. It was then that wooden boards were installed there, which have the possibility to cross the river. And at first people climbed over the boulders on their own, many of them were with children. The military and police helped them to cross, but many found it difficult to cross to the other side with their pets. Therefore, our cages were filled not only with service dogs. However, for all domestic dogs, their owners returned. Only one dog remained, but it should be taken away soon.

Some of the cages were damaged by shelling, but the administrative two-story building of the center itself suffered the most — it was hit by Grad missile. Fortunately, no one was there at the time, the fire was extinguished. There are still shell fragments near the wall, the building itself is already being repaired.

The dogs were also not injured. During the shelling, the animals hid in the "winter quarters" — more fortified parts of the enclosure, where they usually lie during strong winds and rain. Then the dogs got used to the loud sounds and stopped reacting to them.

On March 31, the day of Irpinʼs liberation, dog handlers immediately went to inspect the area for mines.

— There were a lot of corpses on Universytetska Street and in Irpin in general. In Bucha on Sklozavodska Street was an outright horror, — says Pishchansky.

The dog training center fully resumed its work in April, now almost all the evacuated dogs were returned to Irpin. Vesna Loboda takes us to the kitchen, where it smells of boiled meat. Every day the dog eats an average of 500 grams of food. However, while some can be fed regular food, some animals eat only porridge and meat. In the kitchen there are large 10-liter pots in which meat and porridge are cooked separately. There is also boneless minced meat for puppies.

— No bones, just pure meat, — says chef Valentyna Volodymyrivna, who is called the main person responsible for the well-being of animals. — If the liver is brought, we process and keep it for puppies or for the dog that feeds them. They have their own menu here, like in a restaurant!

After the kitchen, we go to the service dogs. They have different specialties — some are looking for a trail, some — for weapons and explosives, some look for drugs. There are also dogs to search for human remains. There are only two such dogs in Kyiv Oblast, and that many tasks due to the war. Thatʼs why cynologists are now teaching Bertha, a young German Shepherd, to look for corpses as well.

— And these are my two beauties, — Vesna points to the 7-year-old German Shepherd Lord and the 5-year-old Malinois Ayid. — Lord works on the trail, Ayid searches for drugs, for which he has already received the title of three-time champion of drug detection.

Vesna bought Ayid when he was 45 days old, he is her own dog. In 2017, when she went to the police, Malinois was six months old. Vesna prepared Ayid for the service. The Lord was then on service, Vesha received him as a search dog. Every day they come to work with her, and in the evening she takes them home.

— After the start of the fighting near Irpin, I took Lord and Ayid home, because it is unknown what could have happened here, and these are comrades-in-arms and teammates to whom you can entrust your life. I received an order that we can evacuate to the Transcarpathian region. However, we did not just sit there, we continued to serve with dogs, but already in Transcarpathia, — says Vesna Loboda.

She talked about the other dogs of the center. Labrador Dick, a favorite of children, and on duty — a dog looking for explosives. Shepherds Gerda, Kara and Ricci go on a trail. Respectful Boy is an 11-year-old retired German shepherd, he used to rotate to the anti-terrorist operation zone.

While everyone was sitting in the enclosures, a German Shepherd puppy nicknamed Bayraktar was playing outside. His parents are also service dogs. The Kennel Center specially breeds animals to work in various police structures and transfers 15 to 40 puppies annually. Bayraktar was almost two months old when the full-scale invasion began. 10-15 seconds before the shelling began, he began to howl, bark, and run to cover. Eventually, the workers began to focus on his behavior — as soon as Bayraktar began to howl, everyone tried to hide in advance.

— According to his nickname and activity, most likely, he will be our investigator — he will look for criminals, DRG, so that no occupier puts his nose here, — laughs Vesna Loboda.

Cynologist Vasyl Bondarchuk is currently raising this puppy, whom he affectionately calls Baryk. During the day he has classes scheduled, including an hour of training on the training trail. From the first nine months, Bayraktar will be tested in real conditions.

— Now he is undergoing initial training, — says dog trainer Vasily. — We pave the initial trail with treats, and at the end of the trail the dog handler waits for him with a plate of food. So we encourage him.

Bayratar, Vasyl and their game were closely watched by Marat, an 11-year-old German shepherd and another dog of Vasyl Bondarchuk. After the cynologist took Bayraktar to the aviary, he immediately went to Marat. The dog showed with an offended look and dissatisfied barking that he did not like the fact that Vasily was dealing with another animal.

— He is jealous because he sees that I am going with Baryk, — the cynologist smiles and calms down the dissatisfied Marat.

— A service dog aged 8-10 is retired, — says Vesna Loboda. — However, Marat is a special case, he is 11 years old, but he is still working. However, age is still noticeable, so Bayraktar will be a good replacement for him.

Translated from Ukrainian by Anton Semyzhenko.

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