No Buddy Left Behind

Author: Hilary

Monday, February 4th, 2008 @ 2:21 pm

Dogs have been trained to fight in our wars since ancient times, preforming tasks such as using their sense of smell to track, scout out booby traps and concealed enemies and were even used to physically bring down opponents and their horses.

Today Military Working Dogs are most commonly used as aids to police officers with larger breeds performing guard, patrol and law enforcement duties and smaller breeds performing smell detection roles, such as explosive, drug and other contraband detection.

These dogs all have served an additional purpose. Throughout history war dogs often were proclaimed as mascots for the troops. The presence of a canine served to relax and build moral for the troops.

As the war rages on in Iraq and Afghanistan, wild puppies have been befriending US soldiers who are taking charge of their care, saving the dog’s lives and instituting them as mascots of their platoons.

Once a soldier’s deployment is up, soldiers are faced with abandoning their dog to the streets, even though he has been socialized for a life with humans. In Afghanistan and Iraq dogs are not treated as pets, instead living in packs on the streets. By leaving their mascots behind, it is almost certain that the dog will likely die on the street without the survival skills necessary to run with the feral packs.

SPCA International began Operation Baghdad Pups when it was contacted by a unit desperately trying to get their mascot dog, Charlie, out of Baghdad. Charlie was found as a tiny pup by a soldier, Sgt. Watson, starving, shaking and infested with fleas and ticks. With the love and care of the unit, the near dead puppy grew into a strong healthy dog, serving as a constant reminder of the power of love, even in the most desolate of situations.

Operation Baghdad Pups was launched in November 2007 by SPCA International with the purpose of raising the funds necessary to bring these canine heros to the United States, providing transportation, shelter, vaccinations and even socialization and training upon arriving in the United States. It extremely complicated to navigate vaccination protocols and quarantine laws in order to humanely bring an animal from a war zone to a safe zone.

By rescuing these pups who have formed deeply rooted bonds to soldiers, we can save the life of the dog and offer soldiers the continued companionship of animals who provided love and hope in the midst of a war zone.Please visit www.baghdadpups.com to learn more, donate to this charitable cause and to read individual stories of soldiers and their companions assisted by this meaningful program.