He said it and he did. Andrew Cisternino, even before the outbreak of war in Ukraine, he had promised himself: «I will not leave here. I will not leave my animals alone.”
Animal rights activist dedicated to the care and recovery of stray dogs, Andrea left Italy for Ukraine in 2009. There he gave birth to a first shelter, then destroyed by fire in 2015, and from the ashes he started again to build the KJ2the refuge in which even today, despite the war, continues to protect all the animals that need it.
Children do not abandon themselves
Interviewed by Todocat during the presentation of his new book Not out of courage but out of love. My story under the bombs with 400 animals to save at theMunicipal Historical Archive of PalermoAndrea told of his experience in Ukraine:
«I did it for the love of these 430 animals, who in the end are like children, because I saved them one by one and the children are not abandoned during the war. So it was right to stay. I could have escaped, but I would never have done it.’
A love that brings him to the point of take food out of his mouth to give it to his animalsthose animals which, despite loud noises, they were getting used to the bombs day after day, thanks to your help. But Andrea did it: he saved them all.
And after Christmas he will return to Ukraine because his work there is not finished yet: there are still his dogs and many animals still waiting to be rescued. His mission will continue despite everything.
Moments not to be relived
As Cisternino himself confessed to our microphones, experiencing certain things firsthand is a whole other story:
«I find it hard to reread the book because I relive moments that I don’t want to relive. […] It was a tough experience, very bad».
But nevertheless, Andrea would do it all again: he would never back down when it comes to saving animals in need. She risked her life many times and he will never stop to protect the most defenseless.
Don’t miss our video interview.
Read also: Excellent news for Andrea Cisternino: here is the great work of Enpa