In 2019 Stephen Quandt was on a spay/neuter and research campaign for the dogs and cats that descended from the pets left behind after the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident. This rare look at Chernobyl, the dogs and people who continue to live there, features my photos and videos from the abandoned towns of Pripyat and Chernobyl City. A story of unexpected resilience, hope, and heroism, it is at times poignant, emotional and ultimately hopeful. 

Stephen Quandt is a shelter-trained and Certified feline training and behavior specialist with the Animal Care Centers of New York City, a not-for-profit shelter contracted by the City of New York to provide animal related services to the residents of New York. He is also in private practice as a feline behavior consultant and believes in a compassionate, educational and non-judgmental approach to cat behavior and in creating a happier world for cats and the humans who love them! He and his husband share their home with two cats, happy-go-lucky Cricket, and Jenny, her blind-from-birth bestie, who rules their home.

To learn more about the dogs of Chernobyl, visit cleanfutures.org/dogs-of-chernobyl