English woman is driving solo to the Ukrainian border to feed the animals

by MikeB · March 17, 2022

Lisa Buck was horrified when she heard about the Ukrainian woman who was shot in her car while taking pet food to a shelter. She was mercilessly gunned down by Russian thugs (see link below). Buck is the kind of person who wants to take action. Like a lot of people, she feels the urge to do something tangible; to go down there and actually help. The thing is that she is going to actually do something rather than think about it.

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Lisa Buck and van full of pet provisions for Ukrainian refugees’ pets. Photo: Lucy Oram.

She has a van and has gathered together a pile of cat and dog food and other provisions which fill her van. She posted on Facebook asking for donations and received them. Her husband Bill supports her although he’s not going. She says that she is a doer not a talker. She loves animals and is highly motivated to help companion animal owners fleeing with their pets from a Ukraine which is being destroyed by Putin who is behaving as if he is as mad as a fruitcake.

She is working with a charity that has a branch in Poland: Viva! Poland. She said that because her van is chock-a-block with provisions for companion animals, she is only taking one change of clothes and some overalls. She knows that she will stink but doesn’t care which is a perfect attitude.

She is taking a 12 V kettle and some pot noodles so she can survive with the bare minimum. She admits that she is likely to lose weight but is happy to do that because she put weight on from the menopause.

She will gather a lot of admirers. She won’t be the only person driving a van to the Poland/Ukrainian border. There are a select group of volunteers with similar ideas and deeds. I suspect that she will offload the van at the border where there is a lot of activity supporting a flood of refugees and their companion animals leaving Ukraine.

It seems to me that a mini-town has been created at the main border crossings where Ukrainian refugees are being cared for so well.

Buck says that she nearly died last October and this has altered her perspective on life. A mother cow became aggressive and injured her while she was assisting the birth of her calf. The mother cow head-butted her which broke her shoulder, her sternum and ribs. And she sustained a serious head injury. Blood was spurting from her eyes, she said. She has fully recovered thankfully.

She is very thankful to those who have donated and responded to her Facebook post. She said that this has restored her faith in humanity. She said “It’s been beautiful to see everyone pull together to help.”

She’s a bit scared and feels vulnerable because she will be out of her comfort zone. She is travelling alone to a war zone but feels compelled to help. We wish her well.