Shelter owner detained after hundreds of animals found dead near Rostov

On December 21, volunteers visited the Aksai shelter run by the well-known animal rights activist Tatiana Makarova. They suspected that the animals might be in trouble, so they decided to check the situation personally. The shelter is called «Forgotten Hearts» and is located in the SNT «Rechnik». In recent years, Makarova«s name has repeatedly appeared in various media, including in the story of the collapsed house on Narimanov Street.

But on December 21, new facts about «Forgotten Hearts» came to light.

Graveyard at the shelter

Previously, volunteers had asked Makarova to show the animals they were overseeing. She refused for some reason under various pretexts. Then the activists suspected she was hiding something and came to her themselves.

The scene that opened up to the volunteers shocked them and brought them to tears: the shelter had turned into a graveyard. Dozens, possibly hundreds of animals had died: according to some eyewitness accounts, there were 200, according to others—300. There were not only cats and dogs, but also a fox, a raccoon, squirrels, and birds. About 16 animals survived, but they are sick or injured. And also emaciated and dehydrated.

One thing is certain—animal corpses in the shelter were lying practically at every step. This is visible in footage taken and distributed by volunteers. The general condition of the house is also visible—it is extremely cluttered and practically overgrown with dirt. According to activists, dead animals were lying in the yard and two houses.

What is known about the owner

Tatiana is 44 years old, a veterinarian by education. She worked (or still works) as a translator from English, German, and Italian. Previously, she owned a bakery in Novocherkassk, then the Vologda agricultural enterprise «Khutorok,» and was also a co-owner and chief accountant of the Rostov firm «PPR-1,» which deals with physical culture and health activities. All these legal entities no longer exist.

In the bailiffs« database, there is a debtor—a namesake of Tatiana, with the same date of birth. She has debts in the millions, mainly for taxes and fees, but there is a debt of over 2 million. It is called »Other property recoveries in favor of individuals and legal entities.«

According to media reports, Tatiana has been involved in animal protection for 13 years. She was known as a volunteer who nursed sick or abandoned animals in her shelter.

She came to the house on Narimanov, 72/3, where almost two years ago an entrance collapsed and pets were left blocked in apartments. Tatiana then took several pets to her shelter.

On 161.RU, Tatiana appeared three times. In 2017, after a terrible fire at Govnyarka near Teatralny Spusk, volunteers were rescuing animals, Tatiana was among them and gave comments to the press.

In 2022, Makarova told our journalist how she evacuated animals from Mariupol. According to her, she went there repeatedly with a friend. At a time, they evacuated 20–25 cats and up to six dogs.

«The hardest thing is to decide on the spot who to take now and who later. It»s tough when emaciated animals look at you. There are just skeletons that we have to take here and now. The car can«t fit everyone. Actually, if your psyche isn»t very good, you can stay there. Animals might drag body parts in their teeth, some have to be literally dug out from under the rubble. In previous trips, they shot,« Tatiana told us in 2022.

And a year earlier, in 2021, our correspondents visited «Forgotten Hearts» and talked with Tatiana on site. Then the shelter looked quite decent. There were injured animals that had become victims of animal abusers or accidents. There were also healthy picked-up or abandoned animals. In 2021, the shelter had about 20 dogs and 60 cats. There were also squirrels that fell from a tree, an injured hawk, a raccoon thrown from a bridge. Possibly, it was their corpses that the volunteers who showed up found in the house.

According to Makarova, told to our editorial office, her facility is checked annually by officials from regulatory authorities and no violations are found. But neighbors sometimes complained about barking, unpleasant smells from dogs and animal food.

That report ends with the words: «Tatiana is a bit worried about a post on social media where her holding facility was criticized. »It«s not all that terrible here, is it? You»ve seen for yourself?«»

Then they were convinced—the shelter looked generally decent and clean. At least, there definitely wasn«t what the activists showed in the video.

What happened later, what events led to the death of hundreds of animals, had not been publicly reported at the time of publication.

Now Tatiana is detained. The shelter«s Telegram channel has disappeared, and the group on VKontakte has become closed, all subscribers were removed. The description says: »A tragedy has occurred at the shelter. An investigation is underway.«