Category: Feature Stories

OBP: Worldwide Mission Almost-Impossible Final Update!

by SPCAI Staff
By: Lori Kalef, Program Manager We did it! Even as these words are typed out, we still can’t believe we were able to get 20 dogs and 1 cat out of Baghdad and home to their beloved Americans who have been serving in Iraq. If you’ve been following our social media and blog posts, you are quite aware of the challenges that we have faced over the last several months finding a way to not only get these dogs and cat on a plane home with our fabulous flight volunteers, but to keep them safe in Baghdad while they awaited transport to the U.S. With each new day, both our teams on the ground and in North America worked tirelessly day and night as we faced new hurdles and setbacks. There were times when the dogs had to be relocated because external forces threatened their lives and well-being, and there were times when the climate made things chaotic as well. Temperatures in Baghdad can reach well over 120°F, this means that a rotating crew of caring individuals had to go check on the dogs every few hours to make sure that they were cool enough, and that their water didn’t evaporate entirely. A makeshift pen was created with a handmade roof to act as a shield from the hot Iraqi sun. And if that was challenging enough, the Iraqi authorities got word of what we were doing and began limiting the amount of animals that could depart from Baghdad International Airport. But there was no giving up, and we banded together across continents and oceans to find new and creative ways to complete each mission. Week by week, our wonderful and big hearted flight volunteers sacrificed the little time they had off while serving in Baghdad, to escort the animals to Jordan where our partners were waiting for them with open arms. Once in Jordan they were fed, loved up, vetted and sent on their way to the United States to be once again welcomed by another team. After overnight break and subsequent health exams, they were on their final route home to their eager military and contractor families. While it took over two dozen once strangers, now friends, holding hands from one side of the world to the other, none of these rescues would have been possible without our extraordinary, wonderful supporters who donated to make these rescues possible. And for this, we say thank you with all our hearts!

Mission Almost Impossible: 21 Pups Out of Baghdad

by SPCAI Staff

By Lori Kalef, Program Manager

One of the joys and challenges about our Operation Baghdad Pups: Worldwide program is that the many details it takes to coordinate these missions change on a daily, if not hourly basis. This can be a good thing or a bad thing. It’s a nail biter every time and this mission is no different.

Over the past few weeks, we have been able to bring home ten out more dogs belonging to soldiers and contractors deployed in Baghdad and Erbil, Iraq. Of course, as with every OBP: Worldwide mission, it doesn’t come without its many obstacles and it sure requires lots of resourceful thinking.

After receiving 21 applications for the rescue of animals befriended by our troops, we knew we had our work cut out for us. Early on the option of sending the dogs located in Baghdad to Erbil (our preferred city for departure) was lost because one of our local volunteers moved away and the roads had become very treacherous.  So we began researching ways to get the group straight out of Baghdad.

Even though the Baghdad airport is only 5 miles from the base where a majority of the dogs were located, it is almost impossible to navigate that route, and near impossible to step outside the compound without very special clearance. After many attempts and one or two flight changes, we were informed on the 11th hour that security forces could not allow the dogs and our flight volunteer to drive to the airport at the required time and all subsequent bookings needed to be cancelled. This meant four very disappointed families in the U.S. who were not going to welcome home their service members’ beloved pups, not to mention all our volunteers standing by.

But we held our breath and waited on a hope and a prayer. Low and behold, less than 24 hours before the flight took off, we got clearance! Our team worked fast and furiously to reinstate all the details so that these pups would depart Baghdad and arrive safely in the US. Each dog is now in the arms of the loving families of those deployed overseas – Buddy, Sassy, Bogie, Habibti, Nugget, Otis, Ghost, Rose (#1), Rosie (#2), and Meela can all be seen in their individual photos below.

But it’s not over yet! Ten down, eleven to go! We are crossing all our paws for the next mission out of Baghdad with four more to arrive in the States in a few short days! Stay tuned! This is OBP: Worldwide headquarters reporting live from Mission almost Impossible!

 

Challenging Baghdad Pups Rescues Underway

by SPCAI Staff

By Lori Kalef, Program Manager

During coordination of an Iraqi rescue mission, it is often the case that I speak with more people in Iraq than in my own country! As Program Manager for Operation Baghdad Pups: Worldwide, I am in contact with many incredible individuals around the world all striving for the same goal: to bring home the cherished dogs and cats befriended by American deployed overseas to their awaiting families in the United States.  But it doesn’t come without its challenges!

Our missions out of Iraq get more difficult with each passing month. We continuously have to revise our logistical planning due to so many restrictions on movement within the country, our well trusted transporter moving out of Iraq and the reduced use of the northern location where we formerly staged dogs and cats in preparation for transport. Since safety for the animals and our team members is our top priority, the recent bombings at the U.S. Embassy in Erbil have prohibited us from sending rescue experts into the country.

Now that we can no longer use the Erbil route, we are finding innovative ways to get a group of 18 beloved pups belonging to American troops and contractors directly out of Baghdad. Although it may sound simple, transporting the dogs a few miles to the airport is a daunting task in itself.  One cannot simply move around freely in Baghdad; something we take for granted on a daily basis here in North America. There is a shop that could order airline cages, but it’s almost impossible to get to that shop. There is government paperwork to be issued, but you can’t get to the government offices.  The challenges are endless, and even the smallest obstacle can seem entirely insurmountable in this difficult environment.

The odds are stacked against the 18 Americans and the animals they love, but SPCAI is committed to finding a way. Slowly, but surely we are jumping hurdles, changing routes and making new contacts that we hope will ultimately result in freedom and safety for 18 animals beloved by our troops.  Stay tuned for more news about the challenges ahead and how you can help.

SPCAI Protests Abuse in Barcelona

by SPCAI Staff
By Meredith Ayan, Executive Director On June 13th, 2015 we joined our partner organizations, SOS Galgos and C.R.E.L. in Barcelona to march through the streets to protest the cruel practice of using Greyhounds for hare coursing. The march began at Tanatoria de Sancho de Avila (cemetery) as a symbol of the thousands of dogs that die each year from this practice. The crowd was over 500 people strong as we chanted and marched through the streets of downtown Barcelona. The destination was the government building in downtown where protestors staged a peaceful sit in. We laid flat on the pavement so the Greyhounds that marched with us could be seen. We marched to be a voice for these dogs and their right not to be subjected to this cruel treatment that is deemed “tradition”. SPCA International collected hundreds of new signatures for a petition, already 69,000 strong, that will be presented to the United Nations and European Union showing international support for outlawing hare coursing with Spanish Greyhounds.  We stand proudly with our partner organizations and we will not rest until this practice has been eradicated. June 13th was an important day in the fight for the protection of Spanish Greyhounds. Learn more about the abuse and murder of tens of thousands of Spanish Greyhounds every year.

How Many People Does It Take To Get 2 Dogs Out Of Baghdad?

by SPCAI Staff

By Lori Kalef, SPCA International Staff

The answer to that is way too many to count on two hands! Over the last few months, our team has been hard at work with OBP:Worldwide rescue missions for American military personnel serving around the globe. In fact, in the span of one month, we reunited 7 dogs from 3 different countries with their beloved humans!

While the logistics, planning and routing can often be very challenging for every country, Iraq continues to be the most challenging of all. With ISIS threatening the borders and checkpoints, and military and security personnel unable to leave their posts, let alone walk outside the parameters of their base, our team has learned how to get really creative.

This last mission featuring two female dogs, Patches and Lil Runt, were no exception to the rule. It came down to the final 24 hours to get them safely transported outside their gates where they have been living with their security personnel family for the last few months. After many phone calls, several hundred emails, over two dozen people on the ground and two companies who handed off the dogs in tandem, they made it safely to Erbil to meet our team member who rushed them to the ministry to get their export paperwork finalized, literally in the nick of time.

It’s incredible to see and feel the support and effort that so many people are willing to offer for the fate of two beautiful dogs who would otherwise be subject to an awful fate. The bond between human and dog that is created over a short period of time while our brave Americans are serving our country is what makes these rescue missions so enormously rewarding.

Patches and Lil Runt made it safely to the U.S. this past weekend and had the chance to rest up over night and have a bath and some much deserved R&R before they made their final leg of the journey to their separate forever homes with the families who fell in love with them in Iraq.

Welcome home Baghdad Pups!

 

You mean we really get to go live with you in the U.S.?

by SPCAI Staff

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This past month, Operation Baghdad Pups brought home 3 beloved mascots befriended by soldiers deployed in Egypt. Bingo, Scrappy and Whiskey could hardly believe that they would get to spend the rest of their lives with the soldiers who cared for and loved them while they were serving overseas.

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The logistics behind each mission takes several months of careful planning and preparation to ensure each animal can safely make it to the U.S. in the shortest route possible. During this time, we really got to know the soldiers and learn about the unbreakable bond they have built with these beautiful dogs. The days and nights are very long during a deployment far from the comforts of home and family. These heroic men and women have often told us that their four-legged buddies have gotten them through the most difficult times.

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So when it was time for the soldiers to say goodbye so the dogs could travel home with our team, we were pretty sure there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. : (

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"Wait, we went into this box and now we’re in a different land where there is grass and lots of people telling us they love us already?"

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"…Boy do they ever love us!"
After the long journey the dogs were greeted by our team on the ground who anxiously awaited their arrival at the airport. After lots of tummy rubs and yummy food, the dogs were able to rest for a night before making their final trip to their military families in separate states across the U.S.

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Don’t you just love a happy ending? Judging from these smiles all around, we’re pretty sure that Scrappy, Bingo and Whiskey are glad to finally be "home!"

OBP: Worldwide – Egypt Rescues Underway

by SPCAI Staff
The days and nights can be very long and grueling for our service men and women deployed overseas. Our brave heroes go many months without seeing their loved ones or enjoying the simple comforts of home. So when Whiskey wandered into the heart of this young captain stationed in the middle of the Sinai desert, the bond was instant. Whiskey was very shy with the other soldiers at first and hid under a building for nearly 3 months, but Captian Stephen was not about to give up. Whiskey soon learned to trust his ‘human’ and the pair soon became inseparable. Whiskey, and two other beautiful dogs befriended by soldiers serving in Egypt will soon be making their journey ‘home’ where they will be reunited with their military dads and moms in just a few short weeks through our OBP: Worldwide program. Stay tuned as we send you updates from the ground!

Watch the Documentary: “February: The Fear of Spanish Greyhounds”

by SPCAI Staff

By Meredith Ayan

We are pleased to share the online release of the award winning documentary, February: The Fear of Spanish Greyhounds.  As many of our supporters know, in many rural areas of Spain there exists an age-old tradition of cruelty toward greyhounds used in hare coursing.  Filmmaker Irene Blanquez’s documentary focuses on the inhumane treatment, training methods and ultimate abandonment of thousands of Greyhounds at the end of hunting season in February each year. (Blanquez testified before the Spanish Congress of Deputies in March 2014 alongside SPCA International and SOS Galgos to bring awareness to the cruel practice of hare coursing in rural areas of Spain.)

Blanquez has published , February: The Fear of Spanish Greyhounds online to educate people about the harsh realities of this “sport”.  I encourage you to watch it and spread the word.

http://www.februarythedocumentary.com/home

Big Thanks to Operation Military Pets

by SPCAI Staff
By: Julie Spendal, SPCA International Executive Assistant Operation Military Pets not only celebrated its two-year anniversary this past month, but it also celebrated helping its 300th military family. This is a huge and proud milestone for the program because of what it represents; helping countless military families and beloved pets move all over the world so they can stay just that, a family. With much appreciation and gratitude, those families want to say thank you. The Bronk family relocated to Japan this past year and needed help bringing their dog, Parker, along with them. Operation Military Pets was happy to help and the Bronk’s couldn’t be more thrilled.  “Operation Military Pets has been such a blessing to us! We can’t thank you enough for the contribution to get him here and keep our family together.” The Lunger family just recently had to relocate to Hawaii and thankfully, Diesel and Rowdy were also able to make the trip and are now hanging ten on the beach, “Thank you very much. Our whole family truly appreciates your help.” Zoe made it from the UK across the pond back to the states to be with her family because of this program and her family is overjoyed, “Thank you so much for the financial help you guys have provided us so that our wonderful dog can continue to be a part of our family.” Canine and feline pals, Wilfred and Louie, successfully made the trek from Germany back home to the US safe and sound to their families delight, “My family and I wanted to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the grant to help ship our animals back to the United States with us. We appreciate you helping us keep our entire family together!” Even Aussie got to make an around the world trip from Australia to Texas with the help of this program and he and his family are forever grateful, “I feel so grateful for your assistance and for the SPCAI for helping me out with this.  I can’t thank you enough, and Aussie will likely be picking out some new toys and maybe looking at an upgrade for his house, pool, and play area.  Spoiled guy.  Thank you again. P.S. Aussie is being a little bashful, but he thanks you too.” We are so proud of all this program has achieved in two years and we couldn’t have done it without sustaining support from SPCAI donors. Thank you!

Dog Rescue Romania is Saving Lives Every Day

by SPCAI Staff
By Lori Kalef, SPCA International Program Manager In Romania, it is very common to see dozens of unwanted dogs in just a one-block radius in downtown Bucharest.  They roam the streets in search of food, shelter and perhaps a kind hand, but sadly, the plight for these dogs is an awful one. Abused, neglected, starved and killed; they are unwelcomed. In May 2013, a veterinarian by the name of Dr. Rudi Hofmann decided to open a small shelter for approximately 50 animals in the heart of Bucharest on a small piece of land. He called it Dog Rescue Romania.  Seeing the immense need, his intention was to help those with critical medical issues, and once treatment was over, find them good homes. But only 3 months after their opening, Dr. Hofmann found himself in the middle of a shocking cruelty crisis. Romania passed a new law giving dogcatchers and public pounds the authority to execute mass killings. Angry citizens, fed up with the amount of homeless dogs, took the law into their own hands and began brutally attacking hundreds of helpless dogs in the streets. Some of those angry citizens only succeeded at inflicting terrible wounds.  Dr. Hofmann and his team were then faced with an extraordinarily large population desperately needing their help. Fast forward to 2015, Dog Rescue Romania’s small shelter in the city and a new sanctuary on the outskirts of town now houses close to 800 dogs that are cared for by a handful of outstanding individuals. Dr. Hofmann’s team now also runs Romania’s first mobile veterinary triage and spay and neuter clinic.  In the short time since they began, they have already sterilized over 1600 animals and have found homes for close to 1000. Through all of this hard work, Dr. Hofmann’s hope is to improve conditions by overseeing treatment, feeding, sterilization, educational programs and adoptions. In February of 2015, our team arrived in Romania to work with Dr. Hofmann and his team at Dog Rescue Romania. Our goal was to help Dog Rescue Romania strengthen and expand partnerships with the public.  We met with the mayor of two towns and discussed long-term goals for Trap, Neuter, Release (TNR) projects. Those meetings were extremely successful.  We also helped Dr. Hofmann with a Shelter Support Grant and Veterinary Supply Aid for their newly opened veterinary clinic.  And we were able to assist his team with life-saving surgeries in their mobile clinic. We are honored to be a partner to the amazing team at Dog Rescue Romania. Dr. Hofmann is an inspiration to us and to all animal activists worldwide. We hope his work will continue to grow and make a bigger impact year after year for the animals in Bucharest. With Dr. Hofmann’s help, we are sure that one day the plight of Romania’s unwanted dogs will change.