No words needed.
Thank you Annie Peschel of @anniie_are_you_ok for these drawings of us.
Annie, a creative art director from Nuremberg, had lent her illustration to Underdog International as a face for their Ukrainian effort.
She will draw your pet in the colours of the Ukrainian flag in return for a donation to Support Ukraine – a campaign set up by the charity Underdog International to support Ukrainian refugees displaced by the war unfolding in their country.
All donations will go directly towards paying for food, medical and essential items for their families and pets.
“Even the smallest effort makes us feel some purpose and gives us a little hope.” (Underdog International)
May’s comment: Underdog International had set up a project to provide pet food and donations to support the refugees arriving in Romania. Within 24 hours, their Amazon Wishlist saw the arrival of over 200 parcels and donations. The next day they had to put the Wishlist on hold as over a thousand parcels filled every inch of their storage space – donated by @ElmTreePetHotel.
Volunteers turned up to help unpack the Amazon packages.
Within five days there were 10 tonnes of donations and raised over £20,000. Vans carrying these donations left on their journey to neighbouring countries on the Ukrainian border.
Their work in association with @breakingthechainsmedia, @warpawsrescue, @dogbus999, @dogood_romania continues to help get stray pets to the vets and shelters, to help those left behind at train stations, etc.
The war continues and their work is far from over.
In 2019, Underdog International became the UK adoption partner for Slaughterhouse Survivors (SHS – the charity we raised money for) and since then they have rehomed many dogs who would have suffered terribly different fates. That was how we became aware of their work.
There are many charities who are busy on the warfront. This is just one of many.
And this is Annie’s story on how she came to be helping raise funds for Underdog International.
COVID, and the loss at the beginning of this year of my beloved beagle, Lady Lotte and the death of my grandmother shortly afterwards, was a hard beginning of 2022.
Immediately after the Ukrainian war began, I saw the countless photos in the media. I spent the whole weekend just watching the news. Unlike the Iraq war, the social media convey the impressions of war more quickly. It feels very close, but we should not forget the Syrians, who have unfortunately been pushed into the background by what is happening now.
I wanted to make a statement and show the world outside that I stand in solidarity with Ukraine, so I changed my profile drawing into the Ukrainians colours of the flag.
Shortly afterwards, I came into contact with Nadine from Underdog International.
She asked me if I would mind if she used my illustration in one of her feeds to put a face to her charity. I was immediately on board and anted to feel good about supporting this campaign. And we have been in daily contact ever since.
After a few days I got more and more requests on Instagram from pet owners who wanted an illustration in the same style. And so my idea to support Underdog International developed.
“Donate and get back an illustration of your beloved pet as a thank you.”
I volunteer for Underdog international because it is personally enriching for me as well.
Drawing makes me happy, my mind can switch off and I relax from the deadline-hounded everyday life. I have been working as a communications designer in advertising agencies for more than 14 years now. Until today as an art director in a small medium-sized agency at elmografico GmbH in Nuremberg. I develop designs and plan events for large companies in and around Nuremberg. I love working with people, communication and transforming their wishes into a visual image. But what is most important to me is that I have fun at work and that in the end it makes sense to the world out there. It makes me happy when I do something good for the world and support it.
I grew up in Berlin and studies “visual arts” at the design Akademie Berlin. Today I live in Nuremberg, which is quieter but also supports artists like me. But the big city is and remains my place of inspiration. Berlin or London, I visit these cities very often and I love them for their inspiration.
And I am an absolute animal fan. Animals make me forget all my problems. They give you so much joy and love that no human being can. My beagle, Lady Lotte, was with me everywhere, work, holidays, parties, she was my partner, my everything. The loss of her is very hard for me. And I miss her very much each day. She was my little family.
