When U.S. soldiers stationed in Africa contact us for help bringing their adopted pets home, things can get tricky. Many countries have no local animal welfare organization, and animals are often at risk of being killed if they are left behind.
This is certainly the case for Somalia and Cameroon – they are dangerous places for soldiers and dangerous places for dogs. Two service members are working with us right now to get their puppy battle buddies home to the U.S. It won't be easy, but our Operation Baghdad Pups: Worldwide partners in Uganda and Nigeria should be able to get these dogs out of Africa. They'll cross several international borders, multiple checkpoints, and endure days of travel, but will be happily reunited in the end.
One of the soldiers tells us that she can't imagine life without her dog, Annie. She knows in her heart that they were brought together for a reason- to live a happy and healthy life together. The soldier may have saved Annie's life, but Annie has made the soldier's life richer in so many ways. The soldier has been saving up leave from her deployments and is planning to take six months off work to rebuild her bond with Annie when they are back in the US.
The soldier tells us, from the day Annie crawled out from under her truck, hot, thirsty and hungry, they have hardly been apart. Annie rises with the sun, loves hardboiled eggs for breakfast, shadows the team throughout the day, takes rides in the truck whenever she can, cuddles everyone in the unit, and snuggles down for bed in a bunker every night.
SPCA International is honored to help this pair stay together.