Through the Operation Baghdad Pups program, SPCA International has rescued the dogs and cats of over 100 U.S. service members who were deployed in the Middle East. Each has a compelling, uplifting story; however, due to security concerns we cannot share all of them online. We encourage you to read the stories below and check back often for updates. You also may want to visit the Rescue Missions photo gallery to see the faces of all of the patriot pets rescued through this vital program.
DAISY
Life for people and animals in Iraq is dangerously precarious. Unexpected events that can forever alter someone’s existence are an everyday reality. Two soldiers and a dog experienced this when a chain of events was put in motion and their worlds overlapped. Sergeant Steven Christofferson was killed in Iraq on April 21, 2008. Read more...
ONE EYE
The name One Eye, suggests that this Iraqi cat has a limited view of the world around him. But in fact, he has two eyes. Born on an isolated military outpost near the border with Jordan, One Eye and his littermates were abandoned at a very young age. Several kindhearted Marines stumbled across the orphans and decided to give it a shot at being surrogate dads. Read more...
PACHINO
Sgt. Daniel Schaefer and his fellow soldiers serving in Iraq found Pachino as a tinny puppy. Hurt and abandoned, they could not bear to leave him for dead, so they dressed his wounds and nursed him back to health. Soon, Pachino became a welcome friend to the soldiers as they taught him to fetch and horsed around with the playful pup. Read more...
WOBBLES
Wobbles is a cat that had special reasons to need the help of Operation Baghdad Pups and the friends she made while living in Iraq. She was born in November 2007, on the compound of a private U.S. security firm in Baghdad, Iraq. Discovered under a trailer by one of the security company employees, she and her only other surviving littermate were in bad shape. Read more...
PHOENIX
There is a Joint Security Stations (JSS) in Iraq that is austere at best. A small building at this location is where eight U.S. soldiers live. There is no PX, post office or chow hall. Meals are trucked in from the nearest Combat Outpost twice a day. The JSS is surrounded on all four sides by tall blast walls topped with concertina wire. Read more...
HAMMER
When Captain Scott Eberlein and his unit were patrolling in the Diyala Province of Iraq, they came across a yellow puppy not more than three weeks old. He was alone, dirty and starving. The patrol, feeling sorry for the pup, pulled him into their Stryker. With the help of an Army veterinarian and a lot of “TLC” from the guys in the unit, the puppy began to thrive. They named the lucky pup Hammer, which is the company’s nickname, and obtained for him designation as a force protection canine. Read more...
MAGGIE
Maggie was found by a couple soldiers who had been waiting for their major to exit a meeting. The group spotted Maggie and her littermates struggling to survive between a building and some Hesco barriers, with no mother in sight. The only water to which the puppies had access was filthy and given the constant flow of traffic in front of the building, it was just a matter of time before the puppies would be run over and killed. Read more...
MISS KITTY
She jumped through an open window at the security forces armory in Kirkuk, Iraq one evening. Exuding confidence, she proceeded to march through the building to a couch where she made herself at home and slept the rest of the night. This young tabby mix repeated the routine every day around sundown. And then, when the sun rose, she would jump back out the window and disappear for 12 hours. Read more...
BAND-AID
Band-Aid was a gift to SSG Luke Henry’s unit from an Iraqi sheik who had received help from a U.S. aid station. Even though it was against military regulations for the unit to have a dog, it would have been rude and impolitic to have refused the puppy. Band-Aid was, therefore, classified by the military as a force protection canine. As such, she was provided full veterinary care and protection from the vector control company that patrols bases and removes dangerous stray animals and wildlife. Read more...
GENERAL GEORGE PATTON
After being discovered in the motor pool at forward operating base Kalsu, a four week-old puppy was on the verge of being euthanized when the base’s Combat Stress Control Unit stepped in and saved his life. Quickly the puppy became a beloved member of this Air Force team, with mostly surrogate moms to dote on him. General George Patton seemed a dignified enough name for this puppy that preferred to give orders rather than take them. Read more...
