Daylesford's Emma Tomkins and Pauline Lillie heading to Ukraine to save animals in peril

Vet Emma Tomkins and nurse Pauline Lillie are planning to fly to Romania on September 8 - laden with as many medical supplies as they can carry - and will travel into Ukraine with help from charities Worldwide Vets and Break the Chains.

"People say I'm brave, but I'm a little scared," Ms Tomkins said.

"I'm not terribly worried about safety as far as the military side of things goes because we will be six hours behind the frontline.

"I haven't been to Ukraine before, so it will be a big challenge."

The married couple will be based will be in the town of Vinnytsia, about 260km from the capital Kyiv.

"There are literally thousands of small towns in Ukraine and in every town there are literally a thousand stray animals," Ms Tomkins said.

"Some were left behind when their owners fled - especially large dogs that couldn't fit in crowded cars. Others ran off when bombs exploded and could not be found.

"We'll be dealing with starvation, mange, parasites, worms - and also things like shrapnel wounds and phosphorous burns from incendiary bombs, which take a lot longer to heal than regular burns."

Ms Tomkins said desexing was not a common practice in Ukraine - and unrestricted breeding was also an issue.

The pair have been given $7000 worth of vet uniforms and protective gear, while AVet Australia has also donated tick, parasite and worm medication.

"We've maxed out the baggage limit already, so we really need funds to spend on these things once we get there.

"Worldwide Vets have developed a really good supply chain to the border."

The pair launched a GoFundMe page this week to cover the high cost of travel and give them enough cash to buy pet food, medicine and more.

Emma said at this stage, she expected to be mainly working with cats, dogs, horses, ferrets and other domestic animals - although Worldwide Vets recently rescued a pride of Lions from an Odessa Zoo, after the operators could no longer afford to feed them.

"Food for animals is a big issue.

"We need to buy tons of dog food and keep stockpiles - that's the real push at the moment..

"It'll be winter soon and often the roads are cut off."

Hepburn Veterinary Clinic has multiple vets, who'll be holding the fort while Ms Tomkins and Ms Lillie are away.

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