This is Cole, one of the dogs that SPCA International rescued from Dog Condo in Thailand and brought to the U.S. this month. When we first spotted him, laying in a tiny, dilapidated rusted cage at Dog Condo he had no life left in him. A day or two more and he would have been gone. Part of the reason for him being so listless, was he had what looked to be a softball size tumor on his neck. Thankfully, a trip to a local veterinarian confirmed it was not a tumor but an enormous abscess, caused by continually scratching, brought on by an extremely bad case of mange. The mange had almost caused him, to scratch himself to death.

When friends and family asked me why I was going to Iraq I got comments like, “You’re crazy,” and “You’re nuts, isn’t it so dangerous?”

Well, maybe all of these things are true, but it’s worth it when I see the faces of the amazing dogs I get to rescue!

Flying across the globe to rescue dogs in Iraq may seem crazy to some, but not to the people at SPCA International (SPCAI) and volunteers like me. If you are an animal lover you understand, there is a strong bond between an owner and their pet, especially for Americans in a country that is still recovering from nearly 9 years of war.

While flying to Iraq through Germany, my safety concerns started to rise, but I settled those quickly by telling myself the war is over, and this is my third trip volunteering for Operation Bagdad Pups (OBP). “It will be fine,” I told myself. In addition, Kurdistan in the northern part of Iraq is much more stable than Baghdad and the rest of the country.

The day after the last member of the Operation Baghdad Pups team left Iraq in May, the temperature was to be a blistering 120 degrees. This gave us even more of a reason to be grateful that we were able to spare more dogs the miserable life they would have had to endure had Operation Baghdad Pups not been able to save them. Once again this set of missions was a real team effort and without the support of our donors we would not have been able to bring 8 dogs (Leo, Kindhi, Snow, Jack, Brownie, Assy, Lady and Schu-Schu) to the states. It’s wonderful to be able to report that another mission has been successfully completed!

A recent, routine trip to the post office, turned out to be anything but normal. I live in the country and seeing large domesticated animals grazing in pastures is common. However, on this day I was taken by surprise. As I rounded the turn on our dirt road, walking towards me were two ponies. I expected to see a person trailing behind the ponies but no one appeared. With the help of my husband we were able to herd the ponies into our seven acre pasture where our three pet steers reside. Then the detective work began.

We visited neighbors along our road in hopes they either owned the ponies or could point us in the direction of who did. Everyone we talked too was just as puzzled as we were. Where had these ponies come from? A call was then placed to our local Animal Services agency in hopes that some frantic person had already called to report their ponies missing. Nothing. I left my contact information, certain I would receive a call soon.

How a Pitbull on the Kill List Inspired Action

A spontaneous decision to pull a Pitbull from Brooklyn ACC’s Kill List set a series of events into place that would ultimately create Rescue the Runway, a unique live music, fashion and animal adoption benefit that debuts in NYC on May 15, at a venue dedicated to rescue, the New York City Fire Museum.

A sleepless night on Facebook led me to the next day’s kill list, where a skinny dog with that trademark enormous lemon-shaped smile, red freckles and cow-like markings was staring back at me from my iPad. I had seen many like him, and had absolutely no intentions of adopting a second dog until that moment.

I am not sure about everyone else but I am taking full advantage of this beautiful weather to venture outside with my dogs. We have a 12 mile trail that starts just down the road from me and I have been taking my dogs on a hike at least twice a week. Not only is this great exercise for the both of us, it also allows my dogs to socialize with other dogs. If you allow your dog to socialize, be sure they are current on all vaccinations. Also, bring enough water for you and your dog to stay hydrated on the trails and take breaks if you or your dog seems to need one. My Anatolian Shepherd is only 16 months old but needs frequent stops. This gives me an opportunity to pullout my camera and take some pictures of Mother Nature at its finest.

The extinction of species worldwide is occurring faster than ever before in earth’s history.  If we continue on our current path of habitat destruction and resource consumption this already frightening extinction rate will only accelerate.  In fact, if we don’t drastically change our habits today, we are bound to lose millions of species. 

Recently, we alerted you to the atrocities being committed during the illegal, brutal capture and killing of over 18 million dogs and cats for human consumption. As our recent email explained, dogs captured for this trade are often boiled or skinned alive for profit. While this inherently cruel practice continues to exist predominantly in South East Asia, there has also been a very strong movement by animal advocates to eradicate this gruesome practice both locally and in the U.S.

SPCA International is proud to support some of the most extraordinary organizations we’ve learned are employing creative and sustainable solutions to regulate or help end the trade altogether.

We have found organizations that are able to intercept cross border transport of thousands of suffering dogs and cats. Those organizations then provide nourishment, hydration and treatment for these victims and work to place them in homes or sanctuaries.

Olivia Engel was a friend to animals. She might have been another six year old that would grow up to be an adult with a deep compassion for animals and would jump in and become their voice when they were in trouble and unable to speak. She will never be all the things she could have been though. Olivia was one of the children killed on December 14, 2012, at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

I overheard a conversation while riding to work on the 6 train the other day, that took all of my “animal lady” self control not to chip in my two cents. Two women were discussing the fact that they had never licensed or micro-chipped their dogs. They simply said they meant to do it when they first got the dogs, and just never got around to it.

13 months ago Cody and I sold our belongings, quit our jobs, and set off on a trip that has been an eye opening experience. We had booked a one week stay at elephant nature park that turned out to be a 6 month stay, briefly caring for a baby elephant that was rejected by his mother, doing a lot of work for elephant conservation, visiting a government facility that was housing over 2000 dogs saved from the illegal dog meat trade, and volunteering with over 400 dogs at elephant nature parks dog shelter.

My first visit to Dog Condo was in December 2011 just after the catastrophic floods hit Bangkok. Nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to see, even after having spent weeks at another disaster relief shelter where animals were sick and dying from cruelty, neglect and infectious disease left, right and center.

On a recent trip to Iraq I had the heartbreaking opportunity to visit what the Iraqis consider a zoo. What I found was a dilapidated corner of a park with structures that were barely standing - held together with loose wire with sharp edges poking into the animal enclosures. Each structure had 3 cinder block walls that looked like they had been standing since the city was developed thousands of years ago. It was completely heartbreaking walking past each enclosure and looking into the eyes of the poor animals forced to live in such filth and despair.

Quick, a retired explosives dog rescued from Iraq this week, was reunited with his American friend Rob this weekend. Quick also got to meet the rest of his new family for the first time. He is one lucky dog!

This week our Operation Baghdad Pups team is at it again. Two rescue experts will be flying into Erbil to rescue four pups for Americans serving in Iraq. Here's a story about one of the puppies named Steve - what a fuzzy buddy!

My job provides me the opportunity to meet a lot of dogs. Everyone of them is a delight in their own way. Some it takes a little longer to get acquainted with, while others greet me as if we were long time friends. Our meetings are often times too short, but for the brief hours or days that we hang out together, I often learn something from these dogs. One that I just recently met, gave me another lesson in trust.

“It matters to this one, it matters to me”

Like most of us, I often rely on social media to get the most up to date on news stories and current happenings around the globe. When disaster strikes, you can be certain that someone posing as an amateur reporter will be posting behind the scenes coverage on sites like Facebook and Twitter.

Animals are capable of so much more compassion, love, bravery, and ingenuity than most people realize.

Source: menmedia.co.uk / via: pawnation.com

This month Operation Baghdad Pups is marking the 5th anniversary of the first pet saved from Iraq and brought to the United States to be with his soldier. I am also remembering my trip to Iraq 2 years ago this week as part of the Operation Baghdad Pups rescue team. I was in charge of rescuing two cats and a dog during that mission.