Afghanistan is not an easy place for a dog to live. Stray dogs are generally considered to be dirty and dangerous and rabies and other diseases are prevalent. Worse yet, one of Afghanistan’s favourite pastime is dog-fighting, and dogs used for fighting usually have their ears and tail cut off to make the fights last longer.
In times of war, animals that might have once had a home are often abandoned when people flee for their lives. It was not unusual then, when the Royal Marines arrived in the war-torn town of Nowzad in October 2006, that they found stray dogs wandering through the empty streets, scavenging for food, dodging military fire, seeking shelter from the heat of the desert sun or the cold of a winter night. The Afghan police also regularly used stray dogs for dog-fighting, but thankfully the Marines quickly put an end to that.
A small group of Marines, led by Sergeant Pen Farthing, began to feed and care for a few dogs that had found their way into the Marines’ camp. First came “Nowzad”, who was soon followed by “RPG” and “Jena”. The Marines rescued the earless and tailless Nowzad from a dog fight, and freed Jena from a forced mating to produce more fighting dogs. Not surprisingly, it wasn’t long before the other strays figured out where they could find shelter, food and kindness. The Marines had great difficulty keeping the dogs out of the camp, despite building what they had thought to be a dog-proof fence around the perimeter. Not long after, "Tali" crept in under the gate carrying six little puppies, and then, an injured "little AK". Then, on New Year’s Eve, Jena gave birth to eight puppies. In the New Year, they were also joined by “Dushka” and “Patch”.
In November 2006 after the initial arrival of Nowzad and RGP, Sergeant “Penny” Farthing first contacted Mayhew International asking for “contact details for any pet/dog rescue centres in Afghanistan” that might be able to help. By late January 2007, the email exchange became more urgent. The Marines by now had rescued twenty-one dogs, including the fourteen puppies. A few of the Marines had fallen in love with certain dogs and wanted to bring them home to the UK. However, the company was due to leave Nowzad in February and they could not take the dogs with them as they were being evacuated by helicopter.
Thanks to The Mayhew’s long-term involvement with animals in Afghanistan, we were able to put Sgt Farthing in touch with the Afghan Stray Animal League (ASAL), a small shelter in Kabul. The Mayhew has been assisting ASAL since its inception, providing them with advice and veterinary support through the Mayhew-sponsored Veterinary Clinic at Kabul University. ASAL offered to take in the dogs but the Marines had to arrange for their transport to Kabul.
The journey to Kabul is a dangerous two days’ drive through bandit country and numerous Taliban check points. Finding transportation for the dogs was difficult: even monetary incentive failed to heighten its appeal. At length, the Marines found a taxi that would take the dogs some of the way to Lashkar Gar, where they would be given to another driver for the journey to Kandahar before being swapped again into another vehicle for the final stretch of the journey to Kabul. The journey was further complicated by the fact that the drivers would not transport the dogs in Western-style cages because then the Taliban would know the drivers were carrying the dogs for foreigners - an offence punishable by death! Rather, the dogs had to be tied up with rope, the Afghan way, and the puppies put into small crates; Jena's puppies went into an old birdcage!
In the end, most of the dogs made it to ASAL in Kabul, but not without casualties. Dushka and Patch were left behind as there was not enough room in the taxi. RPG and AK escaped on the way when a car door was accidentally left open. In addition, three of the largest puppies were stolen, most likely to be used for dog-fighting. The good news, however, was that Tali, Jena and Nowzad and eleven of the puppies arrived safely at the ASAL shelter. Sadly, due to an outbreak of the parvovirus and a shortage of vaccines, only two of the puppies survived.
Once Sgt Farthing was back in the UK in March 2007, he and The Mayhew began to tackle the huge amount of paperwork and complex veterinary and transport procedures to bring Nowzad and Tali to the UK. Although Mayhew International does not encourage people to bring dogs to the UK from abroad as a general policy, we made an exception in this case as it was the perfect opportunity to highlight the plight of the thousands of stray animals in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, Jena had been adopted by an American family and ASAL were working to find the puppies new homes.
Today, Nowzad and Tali are both enjoying their new life in the UK. They were released from quarantine on 23rd December 2007 and now live with Sgt Farthing and his family. Of the famous Nowzad puppies, only one remains named Helmand. Sgt Farthing found private sponsorship to bring Helmand back to the UK and he is currently in quarantine and already has a new home waiting for him.
However, we won’t be able to bring them all home. The only way we can truly help these animals is by addressing the problem where it occurs - In Afghanistan. With your support we can train Afghan vets to care for animals, including the livestock that the local people rely on for a living. Vets can also neuter the stray dog population, and educate the locals on how to look after their animals. We also continue to support ASAL and other animal welfare initiatives in the hope that one day we will see an end to the dog-fighting culture in Afghanistan.