Our Story

The idea to start a rescue and rehome dogs began in 2019 when Elina visited Ukraine during Easter holidays to visit her family. However, the dream seemed complicated due to Ukraine not being a non-EU country. During her stay, Elina and her children volunteered for a local rescue in Ukraine named Paw Help, where they walked, cleaned, and fed the dogs every day.

In the summer of 2020, while spending summer holidays in a Ukrainian village with her family, Elina encountered a homeless dog named Naida and her newborn puppies living under a bush near the main road. Elina started feeding them twice a day, but in a week tragically, she discovered that three of the puppies had been killed by passing cars. With no other choice, Elina took the remaining puppies away from the dangerous location, and Paw Help Rescue in Ukraine cared for them and found a foster home, with Elina covering the costs.

Back in the UK, Elina promoted the puppies for adoption in local dog lovers’ groups in Ukraine. However, she realized that there were many abandoned dogs, including purebred ones, making it challenging for ordinary puppies to find homes locally. The shelters and rescues in Ukraine face minimal chances of local adoptions due to the high population of stray and abandoned dogs. Plus, local rescues receive no help from the government or foundations and exist solely on personal savings and public donations.

Elina knew Paw Help rescue in Ukraine already for a while, donating to them regularly, collecting non-monetary donations for them in the UK (such as blankets, pet food, different dog essentials), and volunteering. It was heartbreaking to see so many beautiful dogs and unwanted puppies without chances to find forever loving homes locally, so it was decided to start a partner rescue in UK, her citizenship country, and with a similar name and try to find dogs forever loving homes in the UK. A strong desire to make the world a better place, particularly for those who may not have anyone else to turn to for help, drove Elina and her team to act. This is how Paw Help UK started.

Among the first dogs who arrived in the UK were those, already grown puppies rescued by Elina in the summer. And same year in December, when Elina was visiting Ukraine again, she rescued their mum Naida, who is now her own beloved home pet, one of 4 ex-rescue dogs… But this is another story.

Paw Help UK began by working with rescue charities in Ukraine, Poland, and later Belarus. We helped rehome dogs from these countries, finding them loving homes in Britain. As our reputation grew, more people learned about us. We started receiving calls from British people who needed to rehome their dogs due to different circumstances. Often, these people had been turned away by other UK rescues. Vets also began contacting us when they had dogs in need of rescue. This led us to expand into a full-scale rescue, rescuing, treating, and rehoming dogs from the UK. The number of UK dogs we helped has been increasing each year, from 2 in 2021, from around 30 in 2022 to almost 80 in 2023 and it continues growing. It’s sad that so many dogs are surrendered, but we’re happy to help them find new, loving homes and will always be there for them.

At Paw Help, we believe every living being is important. This belief keeps us going, even when things get tough. We work with partners and volunteers to make a world where all animals are treated with kindness and respect.

Starting small and growing strong, Paw Help UK began with a dream to rescue and find homes for dogs in need. Today, we’re still on that mission, working hard to make a difference, one happy pup at a time.

Come join us as we work towards a world where every furry friend has a loving home.