Viktor Larkhill
Founder and Director of Let’s Adopt International
Viktor Larkhill is an animal rescuer and the founder and director of Let’s Adopt International. Based in Valencia, Spain, he leads work focused on dogs and cats with severe injuries and complex medical conditions. His responsibilities include coordinating rescues, securing funding for treatment and ensuring that animals receive continued care after leaving hospital.
His legal name is Iván Jiménez Chacón. He adopted the public name Viktor Larkhill during his years in Turkey, where his involvement in animal rescue developed alongside his professional work with businesses and institutions.
His first rescues in Istanbul brought him into contact with the practical demands of animal protection: finding veterinary care, financing treatment, arranging transport and identifying suitable homes. During this period, he learned from Robert Smith and the work of SHKD, particularly in sterilisation and international adoption.
Those early rescues brought together a community of volunteers, foster homes and supporters. The project began under the Turkish name Sahip Çıkalım and developed into Let’s Adopt in 2008, with Fulya Ulusoy and other collaborators involved in its early years.
Let’s Adopt International was founded in Istanbul, Turkey, in 2008 by Viktor Larkhill and is registered in the Netherlands. Its rescue and animal care operations are based in Valencia, Spain, where Viktor has led the organisation’s work since 2012.
The death of Viktor’s dog Simba during a veterinary procedure in Istanbul in January 2008 was a decisive personal event. It strengthened his focus on the quality of medical care, the importance of specialist advice and the resources required to treat difficult cases.
Social media helped connect animals in Turkey with adopters and supporters abroad. By documenting rescues as they unfolded, Viktor enabled people in different countries to contribute to the same animal’s treatment, transport and eventual adoption. This became a lasting feature of the organisation’s work.
In March 2012, he returned to Spain and continued the project from Valencia. Let’s Adopt increasingly concentrated on what it calls Extreme Rescue: animals with serious trauma, gunshot injuries, untreated fractures, tumours and other conditions requiring complex treatment and prolonged recovery.
Viktor works with veterinary teams to understand each case and obtain the resources needed for care. Diagnosis and clinical decisions remain the responsibility of the treating veterinarians. His role is to coordinate the organisation’s response and the support that continues beyond treatment.
At Casa Grande, animals receive daily care, medication and rehabilitation after discharge. Some prepare for adoption; others need a permanent home with ongoing support. Viktor remains personally involved in finding suitable families and in the adoption process.
Through YouTube and Let’s Adopt’s publications, he documents treatment, recovery and outcomes. This includes setbacks and losses, giving supporters a continuing account of the cases they help fund.
The organisation’s work depends on its management team, caregivers, veterinary professionals, adoptive families and donors. As founder and director, Viktor coordinates that collective effort while maintaining responsibility for the animals already in care and the resources needed to respond to future rescues.