America’s Veterinarian Aids Pets in Ukraine

America’s Veterinarian Aids Pets in Ukraine

Issue 87

• Feature
• by Arden Moore

Dr. Marty Becker vows to return to this war-ravaged country

By Arden Moore

Dr. Marty Becker, known as America’s Veterinarian, feels as comfortable treating a dog in a veterinary exam room as he does settling into a seat on a plane bound for a foreign country. He has practice veterinary medicine for more than four decades. And, he has traveled to more than 85 countries in all seven continents.

But when war broke out in Ukraine earlier this year, he instinctively knew his worlds of veterinary medicine and love of travel would unite. But his abrupt decision caught his family off guard.
 
“My wife, Teresa, and I have been married 45 years and we are very close,” says Dr. Becker, from his home in Bonners Ferry, Idaho. “I mention this because she went to lunch with our granddaughter, Reagan and when she came back two hours later, I had booked a trip to Romania to help animals at the Ukraine border. Seeing all the trauma happening on TV to the people and their pets, I felt I was called to do it.”

Dr. Becker is the founder of Fear Free Pets, a game-changing program that helps veterinarians, pet parents and others learn ways to effectively reduce FAS – fear, anxiety and stress in pets.

He packed four suitcases full of dog toys and only one small bag of clothes and headed to the Romania-Ukraine border in April. He arrived in a small town called Galati in the fog at 2 a.m. He teamed up with veterinary leaders from Romania and a local group there called Save a Safe Haven.

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