A man travelled 2,000 miles and for more than 60 hours to rescue dogs from Ukraine - only to be told red tape prevents him bringing them back to Ireland.
Andy Cullen, 45, has been saving huskies for eight years and headed out to the war-torn country to help. But, eight days into his trip, he says he had been told that government rules in Ireland prevent him from bringing the pooches home.
Andy, from Dublin, claims officials called and said he would not be allowed to return with the dogs over rabies fears. Today (18/3), he and teammate Darran Bracken, 40, are going back to Kyiv from a small refugee camp in Przemysl, Poland to pick up 19 more dogs from a shelter.
They say they have already rescued 46 dogs, which have been taken over the border - but which they can't get back to Ireland. As Andy explained: "No one told us anything about not being allowed to take dogs back home before we left Ireland - we did not have the time to wait around. We felt an urgent call to go and help as many dogs as we can out there."
Darran said they started their journey east 10 days ago with the sole intention "to save as many dogs as possible". However, he says the pair feel "bitterly disappointed" and "let down" by his government's refusal to allow the rescue dogs to enter back into Ireland.
Andy and Darren drove to Warsaw to unite with colleagues from Swedish dog rescue centres, and then drove two vans full of dog supplies down to the Polish border, where they finally entered Ukraine on March 12. Andy, a father to five children and owner of nine hounds, has been rescuing dogs from Lviv and Kyiv since his arrival.
He even spent one day waiting seven hours to get in through the Polish border to Ukraine, and has been staying in various refugee camps based in Warsaw and Przemysl. He is currently residing in a refugee camp Przemysl, a small village, where he is waiting to pick up 19 more rescue dogs from Kyiv - who he has been told have "nowhere else to go and no one else to help them".
It was only on March 16 - eight days after starting their journey from Dublin - that Andy says they received two calls from the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine. Andy said: "Usually you can bring dogs back into Ireland no problem at all but the government are coming down hard on rabies - despite having no cases of the disease since 2009.
"In normal circumstances, dogs have to reside with a rescue centre for four months before they can be rehomed, as they have to get blood tests and various vaccinations to class them disease-free. But the Irish government are refusing to allow any dogs from Ukraine into the country. So we are taking the dogs to Polish rescue centres but currently you are only allowed to bring 15 dogs from Ukraine into Poland. You can go in and out as many times as you like, but 15 is the maximum for each visit.
"The Irish government are not budging - I tried to reason with them and asked if I leave the dogs in Poland for four months, then come back and get them, but they refused. I even suggested that I buy the dogs, get them passports and the right paperwork to legally declare them my own - but they still said no because they know where the dogs have come from.
"The fact that Ireland won't let us bring dogs back is a real let down. It hasn't ruined the trip but it's really upsetting - everyone at home wants to help the people and dogs in Ukraine."
Andy's rescue centre, Husky Rescue Ireland, is currently home to 33 abandoned akitas and huskies, which the charity seeks to rehome in Ireland. He said: "We are still delighted to be doing this work but my own country is stopping me from bringing dogs home.
"When you are doing this for the people of Ireland to show we care and you have all this Irish support behind you - and then your own government lets you down."
Ireland is currently allowing refugee families with pets into the country under certain circumstances, but the importation of animals is strictly controlled. Andy and his team are hoping to get back to Ireland no later than Tuesday but is "apprehensive" of timings and has his "fingers crossed for the dogs of Ukraine."
He said: "So all the dogs we rescue will be going to Polish rescue centres, where they will be quarantined for four months and then they will rehome the dogs, either in Poland or Sweden. We are moving from place to place all the time currently and don't know where we are going to stay until night time.
"I never thought about what would happen when I saw the people here. When you see adults and children it really hits home how comfortable we have it. They have nothing anymore and it's heartbreaking."
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has been approached for comment.
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