By Lori Kalef, Program Manager
Happy 2016! This year has already proved busy for our Operation Baghdad Pups: Worldwide team. While many of us were busy with holiday activities, our OBP: Worldwide team was coordinating last minute rescues at the end of December in Iraq. Shortly thereafter, our New Year got off with a bang when we received an unexpected surge in applications for rescues out of Baghdad, Egypt and Kuwait. We couldn’t be happier to help our brave American servicemembers and veterans overseas!
Brew & Sgt. David Recap & Update: Poor Brew, her first year of life was a tremendously difficult one until she met her savior, Sgt. David, on the streets of Kosovo. By the time they met, Brew had already been shot at and hit by a car, and had taken to living in a dumpster at a gas station close to the base where Sgt. David was stationed. Unable to take her on base due to strict military rules, he found creative ways to make sure she would get fed on a daily basis by commissioning a gas station attendant to leave food out for her.
When Sgt David contacted us 6 months after meeting Brew, they had formed a bond so strong it could melt your heart. With your remarkable outpouring of support in November, Brew was taken to safety where she was cleaned up, given shots, and even a bed of her very own. Now, Brew has finished her necessary quarantine period and was picked up by our local partners. She now waits to be accompanied to the U.S. with another little pup named Tucker who gets to go home to his Soldier’s family in America as well! Sadly, Brew’s old injury to her paw is too severe and will need to be amputated. We expect Brew to arrive in the U.S. in late January or early February. We’ll continue to keep you updated on Brew’s journey and we encourage you to Like Us on Facebook for the timeliest information.
Dushka & Christopher Recap & Update: One could say that adorable little Dushka was born into the arms of her savior, Christopher, who served in the U.S. Marine Corp for six years as a machine gunner before getting out, at which point he took it upon himself to volunteer with Kurdish forces in Iraq fighting ISIS. On his first day of service, searching through abandoned houses in Iraq, he came across a tiny little fur ball, just a few days old. He knew he couldn’t leave her behind because she didn’t stand a chance with all the stray packs of dogs competing for every morsel of food and territory. Over the next several weeks, he painfully noticed other puppies he suspected to be her littermates found dead; killed by older stray dogs unwilling to allow the puppies to grow up to be competition for food. Dushka lived and slept with Chris at the Kurdish outpost in a hut made of mud. For many weeks he shared his food rations with her. While Dushka and Chris had formed a very deep bond by now, the situation started getting more dangerous for Dushka and Chis had to urgently hand her off to one of our local volunteers to ensure her safety. Since then, she has been vaccinated and quarantined – and today, 1/22/16, Dushka is in flight on her way to the U.S. “Woohoo!” – we can wait to deliver her to the arms of Christopher’s parents in Massachusetts. We’ll continue to keep you updated on Dushka’s journey and we encourage you to Like Us on Facebook for the timeliest information.
But that’s not all! We currently have 21 other dogs and cats waiting for rescue in Iraq, Kosovo, Kuwait and Egypt. Please help us continue our rescue efforts by sharing these stories with your friends and family on Facebook and through email.
