North Yorkshire former colleagues heading to Ukraine to rescue animals
Roberto del Pino and Karen Roch will be travelling for three days from 7 April to reach their destination
Two former colleagues from North Yorkshire will be travelling to the Romania-Ukraine border to rescue animals that have been left behind in the war-torn country.
Roberto del Pino from York and Karen Roch from Silsden will be travelling for three days from 7 April in the campervan that Roberto lives in to reach animals abandoned in Ukraine.
They are aiming to distribute animal food at the border, and transport both pets and stray animals to vets and shelters thanks those who have donated money to their fundraiser.
They hope to raise £4000 to be able to provide as much support as possible whilst they are out there.
Roberto del Pino, who is a Theatre Production Officer at the University of York, said:
"A pet or an animal is also a member of the family. These are the members of families that are being left behind, through no fault of the people, because they're fleeing for their lives. A lot of them haven't got the choice. We're just wanting to pick up the piece of what's being left behind.
"What it is that we're potentially going to see could be quite distressing and it could be quite horrific some of the things we may witness. I'm sure we will come back somewhat changed and that change will be the incentive that we need in order to continue supporting when we do come back."
Karen Roch, who has lived in Silsden near Keighley and is moving back to the area, said:
"Just seeing all these videos of people extracting animals from Ukraine and the state they were in. They were being shelled, they were damaged and it was horrendous. I just thought I had to do something.
"They're so helpless and defenceless; it just breaks my heart. I had to try and do something no matter what. Even if it was just going to be setting up a fundraising page to get food over there but then I thought no we can get over there and we can do this
"They're very damaged animals that are coming out of a war-zone and they need to be taught to play again as a lot of them have been really affected."
WATCH: Roberto del Pino explains what the pair plan to do in Ukraine
The pair are working with Breaking The Chains charity who create docuseries into rescues and shelters around the world.
Their aim is to raise awareness through their documentaries to generate much needed support for the dogs and animals in need.
The charity are currently working in Ukraine.
Roberto and Karen met when they both taught together at the University of York.
Already over £1,000 has been donated to their cause.
You can donate to their fundraiser here