Three north Norfolk women have set up an organisation for rescuing dogs from kennels in Russia before rehoming them in the UK.
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The Long and the Short of It, a non-profit group of volunteers based outside Holt, was established in 2020 by Haili Power, Ksenia Chamberlin and Melandra Curley.
They work with fellow volunteers in the Siberian city of Nizhnevartovsk to rescue and rehabilitate stray dogs.
Ms Power, 39, said: "In Russia the government has implemented a system to reduce the number of dogs on the streets by rounding them up and having them neutered and kept in kennels for 40 days before releasing them.
"Unfortunately the kennels are not in a great condition, they are cold and some of the dogs get injured," she added.
The women launched their organisation after Ms Chamberlin, who is originally from Russia, started bringing dogs from Russia to the UK with the help of her friend, Gulnara Guzairova, who lives in Nizhnevartovsk.
Ms Power said: "Gulnara has 20 to 30 dogs at any one time, and every so often, when we can afford to, we bring some of them to the UK."
The dogs travel the 6,000 miles from western Siberia to north Norfolk by pet courier. All going well, the journey takes four days.
Most recently, Ms Power and her colleagues collected four dogs in Essex on Friday (January 14).
They are Jango, a six-month old puppy; Boy, who was abandoned in a box with his siblings and was the only one to survive; Lilu, who lost her foot trying to escape from the kennels; and Kuzya, a puppy from a fishing village which cannot be accessed during the winter due to frozen lakes.
Ms Power looks after the dogs and updates social media, Ms Chamberlin helps with the contacts in Russia while Ms Curley looks after the business side of things.
"It's been a lifelong passion of mine to help animals," Ms Power said. "I was a veterinary nurse for many years. My dream has always been to work in rescue and I've done that voluntarily in the past.
"Knowing we are helping these animals and taking them out of a horrific situation, it's huge. Nothing else matters or comes close."
To donate to The Long and the Short of It, visit their website: www.thelongandshortofit.co.uk/donate
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