Lviv - Saturday - Foxes and the House of Scientists

I began Saturday morning at Domivka, and Victoria told me a few more stories about the animals there. When you first enter, you notice a large enclosure of foxes. Victoria explained that most of them came from fox hunting centres, where they had their teeth and claws removed to prevent them being able to fight back hunter dogs.

Because of this, these foxes will remain at the shelter permanently as if they were released into the wild, they wouldn’t be able to survive. The same is true of some of the eagles at the shelter, who had their wings sewn closed by previous owners. Even when the threads are cut, they are permanently affected apparently as they will never have the wing strength to fly long distances.

The shelter is also home to an animal war hero, one of the goats! Apparently when Russian troops invaded the village where he was from, he ran towards a gateway, blocking the soldiers entering, and saving the family inside. Victoria told me that when the volunteers came to the village, they were all told that the goat was considered a local saviour.

In the afternoon I did some more sightseeing to absorb some more Ukrainian culture. I went to the ‘House of Scientists’, a 19^th century Fellner & Helmer building. It was initially built as an aristocratic casino, and I discovered that it was used in the filming of ‘D’Artagnan and the Three Musketeers’. Again, I loved the neo-baroque style of it and was most impressed by the staircase. The courtyard outside was also very attractive.

In the afternoon, one of the American volunteers I met the previous day invited me to come a meet a larger volunteer group at a bar. Funnily enough, she mentioned that on her way she had walked past Boris Johnson, who was apparently surrounded by a mass of locals. It was great to speak to a large group of volunteers from all over the world about their experiences. I was also able to get other volunteering recommendations. I’ve been exploring some other volunteering opportunities here as a result of this and will update Marlborough News soon.