The Dog Lover in Me Loves This....

Update: Both surviving dogs have homes in the states now. One dog (Rufus) was adopted by the soldier in the video. The other dog (Target) will arrive Wednesday in Phoenix and is being adopted by the Army medic who nursed her back to health after the bombing.

From the fiance of the soldier who is in the video:
"Not many people realize this but the dogs in Afghanistan are considered to be a disgrace. According to their culture if you’re bitten by a dog you cannot get to Allah the god they worship. The animals there have no voice, they are treated like trash, used for target practice, blown up, run over and used in dog fights. It is terrible what these animals go through and I feel it is our responsibility to speak out for these animals. In fact many of the stray dogs find their way to the US bases and befriend the soldiers because of the love they give to them. These bases become their homes and they have learned to protect our soldiers which is absolutely amazing. They can sense danger from miles away and have learned to attack intruders which has saved our soldiers on numerous occasions."
"... these dogs and cats tend to find their way to our soldiers. It’s as if they know the difference between Americans and Afghans. This fact is confirmed daily as Chris tells me stories on how the dogs growl at the Afghan soldiers but show nothing but love to the American soldiers. Dogs have a keen sense of danger and they truly can differentiate good people from bad."

More information on the effort to rescue these dogs and bring them to the states to good homes:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Puppy-Rescue-Mission/106320572741421
http://sacfund.giving.officelive.com/default.aspx


Pardon my enthusiasm for this - but I just love this combination of helping deployed soldiers and animals. Win - win :thumb::thumb:

I see a service project in my future!!
 
Side note: A number of Coast Guard stations have dog "mascots". Crews take care of them and get pretty attached. Not only does the dog get some great attention, but the crew has a friend to play with. I was TAD on a 140' ice breaking tug (but cutters in the fleet, in my opinion), and they had a dog onboard that was trained to salute for treats. Funny to see. I called into Mark Levin on the radio to tell him that story. He sent me a signed copy of "Rescuing Sprite".

Dogs are a man's best friends. I lost my puppy, Liberty, last winter to a brain tumor. I was at a program at Fort Carson not too long ago, and an Army dog handler was there, very attached to his dogs, including one he lost.

Always appreciate a good dog story, thanks for posting.
 
Great story! Until I married I didn't consider myself a dog person but my husband converted me. :thumb:

Our elderly lab died in February so we don't have any dogs right now but we will be getting another eventually. I can't imagine how the Afghan people could be so cruel to such loving animals.
 
As a dog lover it's incredibly hard to shoot dogs overseas. But a rabid pack is too dangerous not to do so, and there's no alternative.

Cute pooches.
 
Last Update: The 2nd dog (Target) has made it to Phoenix and is now with his new owner. :yay:
http://tinyurl.com/2beov9f

After the suicide bomber incident, Target had puppies. The Puppy Rescue Mission ( http://www.facebook.com/pages/Puppy-Rescue-Mission/106320572741421) raised money to get all of the puppies to the US to loving homes. With the help of Pilots and Paws (a group of pilots with planes) these pups are with loving families now here in the states. :thumb: They are continuing to rescue dogs and reunite them with soldiers who have returned home.

Shooting a pack of rabid dogs is different than using them for target practice or for dog fighting. Safety v. cruelty.
The Afghans will cut their ears and tails off so they will bleed less when in dog fights and therefore the dogs are able to fight longer. Horrible. :thumbdown::thumbdown:

Dogs are considered unclean in Afghanistan and are often abused by the people there.
Case in point - The story of Dave: A mistreated and abused Afghan puppy who was saved by a soldier in Afghanistan.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=145749455452323&ref=mf

I wish I could adopt one of these Afghan dogs but we already have 3 dogs and 5 cats (I am NOT a crazy cat lady - the homeless cats find ME!).
But I do love seeing how dogs aid our troops. For the soldiers, not only are the dogs a source of companionship and comfort but some are sources of safety as they are trained to find IEDs and other explosives.
Apparently they get PTSD too. :frown:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100803/ap_on_re_us/us_ptsd_military_dogs

We really do get attached to our pets. My Golden Retriever has cancer and I dread the day that I have to make the decision let her go. :frown: They truly are members of the family.
 
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