'Lowering that stress'
Burago says the soldiers she works with are taking a break from the front in Kyiv and will return there.
"They've seen a lot of things that may have caused them post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We don't diagnose them here but their psycho-emotional state is very complicated," she says.
PTSD can affect people who have been in conflict situations, causing them to involuntarily relive moments of emotional stress.
Simply being with animals gives them a chance to see and think about something else.
"Our work is focused on lowering that stress, so that the person can relax and so that something else can enter the brain and create a new perception of reality," Burago says.
"It's a completely different atmosphere -- the contact with the animals, you talk about yourself, you share your emotions, your experiences. It's pretty cool and it recharges you for the future," says Oleg, 35, whose call sign is Dyadya or Uncle.
Dyadya says he is on his second visit and has brought along two soldiers from his unit after recommending it to them.
He says that he keeps busy when not at the front to avoid painful thoughts.
"When you're not on the front line, you try to entertain yourself, do something all the time," he says.
"While you're doing that, the thoughts and anxieties you might have experienced over there directly while you were doing combat missions, don't torture you."
