Can you volunteer at Domivka? (Lviv, Ukraine)

Can you volunteer at Domivka? Yes, you can! But first… what exactly is Domivka?

Domvika:
Domivka is an animal shelter in Lviv, Ukraine. Initially it started with just one horse and it continued to expand, like most successful organizations, I find. It starts of small and humble and continues to grow into something extraordinary. Later, it expanded its mission to save wild animals from human violence. This includes rescuing animals from poachers, fur factories, slaughterhouses, leather factories, circuses and other people who may profit from the abuse of such animals.

They have saved over 9,000 animals as of 2026 from different regions in Ukraine, offering to create safe and comfortable conditions for them, focusing on wild and livestock animals as you’ll see below. The goal is to rehabilitate them through Veterinary services, but some animals won’t be able to return to the wild due to disability, injuries or not being taught instincts needed for the wild.

However, since the beginning of the full-scale war in Ukraine, in 2022, they also began caring for pets as well. Dogs, cats, rabbits and other animals who have lost their homes as a result of the war. Many of the pets at Domivka come from places such as Kherson, Kharkiv, Irpin, Bucha, etc. and often come with emotional and physical traumas. Some show real fear of loud noises and others have lost limbs. You can read more about the pets on their Instagram page, where they share the individual stories that lead the animals to Domvika.

The Set-Up:
Once you arrive, there is a small parking lot in the back. Domivka is on a dead end street and many people who come say they “didn’t know if I was in the right place or not” but it’s clearly marked on the GPS, so as long as you’re at the right place on the map, you should be there! The entrance is clearly marked and there are usually either workers or other people (perhaps admin staff) mulling around at the entrance. There are several buildings, and I was actually volunteering with a man named Diemer at the time, so I just asked where he was and they pointed me at the back to walk dogs.

There are monkeys and cats near the back as well. I brought some dog/cat toys which I had given to the front desk near where the dogs are. You also have to check in when you walk a dog (probably so they know where the dogs are and you didn’t kidnap anyone, HA!)

Volunteering:
If you clicked this post, it’s probably because you want to know if you can actually volunteer at Domvika. You absolutely can and it’s great because it’s on a walk-in basis. I walked the dogs here, but you can also help clean the cat area, or bring toys and other items for the animals.

I actually got a very calm dog, Mazepa (black dog)- I do hope he gets adopted soon, but there were definitely some pups that were not leash trained, pulled like crazy and it looked like it was hard for the people to control them. Diemer (the man I was volunteering with) laughed and said that they will give him the “crazy dogs” because they know he will still come back each week.

Once you get a dog, you grab some treats and bags. The woman will tell you where you are allowed to walk and general rules. She said it in English first and I generally got the gist but she was also able to speak in English upon request. They have a large park/field in the back where you can walk and you can walk for as little or as long as you want and you’re asked not to approach other dogs on the walk.

The Other Animals:
From the entrance to the back where the dogs are, there are various animals. Most of them are just chilling out and typically in zoos, you can see when animals are stressed; they’ll pace or do other types of swaying or biting motions, but I really didn’t see any of that here, which is good.

There were a lot of birds there, but also other animals like foxes, wolves, porcupines, a goat, etc. It was kind of like a zoo! And before you ask, there is an actual zoo in Lviv, but I didn’t go because a lot of the reviews say that the animals are not well treated, don’t have clean water, look too skinny, are in small enclosures, etc., so I was happy to see the well-fed and well cared for animals at Domvika, for free, instead!

Do I Recommend Domvika?

I absolutely do. I thought the animals were treated well and with care here and I love the initiatives the shelter has done to rescue animals. The people here were friendly and I would definitely come back again to help out.