When Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine forced families to flee, countless dogs were left behind in the chaos. One Connecticut trainer decided he couldn’t ignore that reality — so he paid his own way to help.
Steve, the trainer behind Steve Good Dog, has spent over a decade working with more than 2,000 dogs — from service dogs supporting Marines with PTSD to family pets he now trains one-on-one in homes across central Connecticut. When the war began on February 24, 2022, and images of abandoned dogs filled the news, he couldn’t shake the thought of them.
“I knew when people were leaving, they weren’t taking their dogs,” he said. “I could just imagine what it would be like for these dogs with the bombing, the fear they must have.” His family worried about his safety and urged him to stay home, but he felt compelled to act. Without backing from any organization, he covered his own expenses and spent nearly five weeks volunteering at a shelter on the outskirts of Kyiv.
That shelter housed more than 3,000 dogs. Steve had planned to train staff to help frightened animals cope with bombing and the loss of their families. Instead, he found a facility where the staff’s main goal was simply ensuring enough food and water was distributed — a process that took up to four days to complete across every kennel.
So he adapted and did whatever was needed. Many workers were afraid of the dogs, so Steve went into the crates himself, cleaned them, and spent time with the animals inside. He admits it wasn’t the training work he had envisioned, but the dogs responded to him anyway. “When they would see a human, the way I would talk to them, they felt my energy,” he said.
One dog especially stayed with him. Steve noticed the animal in a crate, playing with his food bowl all day while his brother slept beside him. Steve took him out and taught him to walk on a lead. “He just wanted to do something with his mind,” Steve said. “I don’t think he’d had that connection with anyone in a long time.” That instinct — figuring out what a dog is trying to communicate and what it needs — is what he looks for in every dog he meets.
The experience also revealed his approach in subtle ways. On his first day, military personnel brought in a female Alabai, a guardian breed typically used to protect farms and livestock. Many of these dogs had been left loose on the streets after the invasion. When she charged the front of her kennel, one of the shelter sisters threw her treats to calm her down. Steve explained that rewarding a dog in that moment can reinforce the exact behavior you’re trying to stop.
That blend of patience and honesty shapes how Steve trains at home. His method is built on understanding and trust rather than dominance, and on coaching owners as much as the dogs themselves. He believes consistency at home is what makes training stick. “Every owner and dog has the potential to be amazing once they understand the art of effective communication,” he said.
He rarely talks about Ukraine and prefers to keep the spotlight on the animals. But the experience helps explain why so much of his work now involves rescue dog training for Connecticut families, helping dogs who arrive with fears and histories no one fully knows. “Rescue dogs always tell you their story if you pay attention,” Steve said. “And dogs never lie.”
Steve Good Dog provides in-home dog training in Southington and towns across central Connecticut, working one-on-one with families on everything from puppy basics to fearful and reactive rescue dogs. Steve holds a 5.0 rating on Google. To learn more or arrange a free call, visit stevegooddog.com or call 860 266 5566.
Emma Sivess
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Why it matters: Steve’s story is a reminder that individual action can make a tangible difference in crisis zones, even when the work looks nothing like what was planned. His experience also underscores the deep bond between humans and dogs — and the responsibility many feel toward animals caught in conflicts they never chose.
