In October and November, the animal welfare initiative AdoptMe Days Online, launched by Pethouse and Gostomel Shelter, is running a large-scale campaign to home stray animals. Instead of traditional offline festivals, the organizers have moved pet matchmaking to social media, featuring 30 four-legged friends from ten Ukrainian shelters — 16 dogs and 14 cats — over the course of two months.

Each participant in the project has undergone a professional photo shoot and received a detailed questionnaire containing information about their character, habits, health status, and living requirements. The animals' stories are regularly published on the official AdoptMe Days page and on the accounts of 21 prominent ambassadors, including Ukrainian actresses, musicians, bloggers, and public figures.

How Online Adoption Works and Conditions for Future Owners

The process of finding a new family is designed to be as transparent and accessible as possible for residents of all regions of Ukraine. Those wishing to adopt a pet must fill out a special questionnaire, after which a curator of the specific animal contacts them for an interview. If successful, the parties agree on an in-person or remote meeting and sign an official adoption agreement.

The organizers cover the financial costs of safely transporting the animal to its new home. In addition, each family receives a starter kit of essential supplies and a certificate for the first veterinary consultation, helping to reduce the stress of adaptation during the first days in a new place.

Difficult Fates and Rescue Stories of Project Participants

Among the 30 project wards are animals with difficult fates who have survived abuse, war, or betrayal. For example, the dog Tryufel spent the first year of his life on a closed balcony with almost no contact with the outside world, and after the death of his owner, ended up on the street. The cat Glasha was rescued by volunteers from an apartment in Kramatorsk destroyed by a guided bomb, where she had been left pregnant.

The dog Mishka and other puppies were found exhausted in a box on the road between the Kherson and Mykolaiv regions, and the dog Patron was given to a shelter after trying to defend his personal boundaries in a family that treated him like a toy. All these stories are designed to show potential owners the importance of a conscious approach to training and understanding the needs of traumatized animals.

Safety and Evolution of the AdoptMe Days Format

The AdoptMe Days project has been successfully implemented since 2023, and during this time, thanks to the initiative, 2,483 cats and dogs have found new families. Following the July 2026 festival alone, 152 animals went to their homes. However, the current security situation and restrictions on mass events in Kyiv forced the organizers to temporarily abandon large-scale offline events.

Despite the format change, shelters continue to overflow with evacuated, abandoned, and injured animals, so the team decided not to pause their charitable mission. The online platform makes it possible to reach the maximum audience and safely connect those looking for a loyal friend with those who need it most.