Happy Tails

Please take a moment to read some of stories of happy endings between our military personnel and the animals they befriended. The Puppy Rescue Mission is proud and honored to work every day to add to this list.

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Amira

Meet Amira which means "princess" in Arabic. From her solider:

Amira was a puppy that was originally living at an OP above our FOB. She followed people down and was in danger of being terminated. We temporarily held her in a holding pen on our FOB that housed a ram and two donkeys. Unfortunately, her herding tendencies forced her to "herd" all of these animals. She would nip at their ankles. Security personnel took her about 10K away from the base and released her. Well, Amira is not one to give up easily. She found her way across a river, onto the FOB and was at our doorstep about a day and half later. She has since become our team dog and is sequestered in our area. She has provided pet therapy to our team and is our unofficial mascot. If she were to be released into the wild, I'm sure she would again return to the base and be terminated. I am hoping to be able to bring her home to the states with me...can you help?

Amira is now home in the US!

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Beefy

As written by Beefy's soldier:

Million thank you's, and hugs and kisses. Thanks for getting the funding, just makes me smile how wonderful our country is.

How I got Beefy? Someone else wanted to take her home, but at the last minute, couldn't, so without question I said sure I will take her home. We were leaving that camp, and going to another one at the time, to live. So Beefy was in danger to Afghani's, and other Army guys who didn't want the dogs, and cats. The dogs, and cats there where treated like cockroaches, always getting kicked, abused, and even killed. So Beefy's life was in jeopardy, and even if I couldn't pay for her coming home, at least she is somewhere safer, which was Kabul. I paid for her to go to Kabul, and we left to our other camp, and lived at the new one, soon after I left back home. Its been hard trying to come up with the money, but I guess with your help, and everyone's it became a reality. I am really am lucky to know people like you, and your foundation, know about the gift of giving. I live in Indiana, and I am currently going back to school, and will drive however far I have to go to pick up Beefy. Thank You So Much Everyone!

Yours Truly,

Dennis

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Buttons

This is Buttons - a girl puppy who was rescued by an American soldier and who was waiting at the shelter for about one month. The soldier raised most of the money for her trip and we have told him we would help with the rest. Buttons is so sweet and is now great with kittens as she has been spending time in the kitten room as requested by the soldier. We hoped to get her home in time for when the solider was on leave in March. An email from the soldier to the shelter: "Good evening. I hope all is well at the shelter. As you probably know, I'm hoping to send Buttons home in March. I was wondering if you could tell how she is doing. Also, can you take her to the cat room so she could get used to cats (I have cats at home)."

Buttons is now called Khieli and is home in the US! TPRM assisted with fundraising only

As written by Isa's soldier:

Isa was found wandering alone in the vicinity of the Isa Khan bridge by a Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team. The Isa Khan bridge is a bridge that has been heavily fortified by Taliban militia fighters by IED's in an attempt to keep coalition force aid out of the town of Isa Khan itself. The EOD team was in the area to respond to an IED in the area when she was spotted near the truck by one of the team members and recovered into the truck where she spent the next 2 days eating Meals Ready to Eat (MRE's) and working out of the truck with the team until their return to base. Isa was a quick study in the ways of socializing with people. At first she was food aggressive but that was quickly resolved through a strict hand feeding regimen and her only game that she liked to play was "bite the person" this was resolved through the introduction of toys and appropriate level of play. She now knows "come" and "sit" and is currently learning to walk on a leash. There are a couple of other puppies on base that she periodically socializes with to ensure that she remains friendly to other dogs. Her final destination in the United States will be with me, my wife, and our daughter. We live at the base of a mountain in San Diego that has an extensive trail system and are in close proximity to 3 beaches that allow dogs to roam off leash and socialize with other dogs while playing in the ocean.

Donny

Izzy

As written by Izzy's soldier:

For security reasons I wish not to give my name or rank, but I’m a soldier serving in Afghanistan. My fellow soldiers and I where on a mission when we found Izzy. She was just eight weeks old and barely able to stand, but she still came right up to us, almost as if she were asking for help. It was evident Izzy was starving to death and being mistreated. She has been a huge morale boost for my buddies and me. Many dogs and puppies are destroyed on bases to control disease. We cannot leave her behind. Dogs are not seen as companions in Afghanistan; they are seen as pests. Most run the streets and end up starving or dying of disease; others are shot. But in such a place as Afghanistan, so far from home, a puppy is a true friend for our soldiers and a much needed distraction from what can be a difficult environment. Izzy found us, and we can’t leave her to starve or get shot when we all go home to our families. So I’m trying to get Izzy back to the States. There is a loving home waiting for her when she gets there but I need help raising the money to send her on her way. Thank you so much for helping us; it means a lot to my fellow soldiers and I. Thank you.

Yours truly,

A hopeful soldier

"As we got ready to go back for training, the day started cloudy and cold. But we had a furry friend, not a pet mind you, show up as we prepared to go, and she brightened everyone's morning. Then the sun burst through the clouds, warming us and revealing a beautiful day for a mission to help the people of Afghanistan."

~ Izzy's soldier

Oreo

As written by Oreo's soldier:

I am writing to you because I have been told that my lil girl Oreo has a limited amount of time here with us on my COP. I have taken care of her, gotten her shots mailed from home. She had a pretty good set-up. I knew there was going to come a day when I would have to leave and go home and thought I had time to try and take her with. Yesterday, I was ordered to remove her food bowls, blanket and stop feeding her. She is sad, but didn't go away. She is still outside my tent. I have been told that it is just a matter of time before they will be "putting down" the remaining dogs that are around here.

I don't quite know what to do? I snuck her food and have been giving my friends food to give her. They ordered me, not them, after all.

Oreo is 8 months old +/-. I would have to say. I paid my driver $100 to run her up there and will continue to send you money for her care and to get her fund going. I have had a fellow Sgt take pictures and I will get them to you ASAP. I am sure that I can get the ball rolling with help from the other soldiers here as well as my facebook network. I also look forward to continuing to work to help this cause even after we get Oreo to her forever home.

Thanks a ton, let me know if there is anything else that I can do in the meantime!

She should arrive (at the shelter) in the next couple of hours...I miss her already but it is such a relief to know she is safe.

As written by Poptart's soldier:

I just woke up a few minutes ago (12hr difference from the West Coast) and I am so overwhelmed by the last 10 hours. It is truly amazing and a dream come true. Just know that there are still so many people out there who care and are willing to give a helping hand is unbelievable. Operating in a worn-torn country like Afghanistan, has a tendency to bring you down. Seeing dogs and other animals abused and roaming the streets, and knowing that you can't do anything to help them is a hard pill to swallow. Then a dog like Poptart comes along, and with all she has survived, are paths cross and all our lives are changed forever. She has beat all odds, and as I know all too well from living in Vegas, that's a one-in-a million. We are not lucky, we are fortunate and forever indebted to you and all the others who have made our dreams come true.

A heart-felt thank you from our family to yours,

Sarah, David and Poptart

 
From her soldier:

Rita was about three or four weeks old when she was found by soldiers on my team and purchased from a group of Afghan kids who were dragging and kicking her in a burlap bag. She had a very difficult time adjusting to the new environment due to how young she was, her previous treatment and the complete change of atmosphere including people and a new language. We had some dog food left at from a military dog handler, but she was so young, it took a while before she was eating regularly. Everone on my team really fell in love with her and most had packages mailed for her with everything from flea collars to organic doggie snacks. With constant protection against locals who would mistreat her and a little training, she has grown into a very loving and loyal dog. It was decided that I would be able to provide the best home for Rita and we came up with as much money collectively as we could afford. After a long and difficult trip, she is safe at the shelter, has been spayed and is waiting to continue her journey to my home in the States."

As written by Sadie's soldier:

We were burning our garbage one day and saw some puppies and went to check them out. One pup looked cute so I caught her but she yelped and screamed. Her yelping caused mom, Shelia, to come over. I put the pup down and pet mom so she would see i didn't want to hurt the pup. The pup then came up and stomped her paw on the top of my foot so I picked her back up. The second time she did not yelp or whine or anything she was content to just be held and pet by us. We set the pup down and I started to walk back to our compound and she followed us. We left her with her mom for the night so I could clear it with my bunk mates but they said bring her in. The next day we went back out and brought her "home" with us. We had her in our tent for a couple of weeks but our chain of command found out and we had to put her back. I go see Sadie at least once a day more if i can. She is a great puppy and is 15 weeks old at the oldest. I would like to take her home because we are surrounded by an active mine field and have seen local nationals beat the dog just because they can. She is to cute and good to be stuck with that kind of life, I would like to give her a home that's warm has plenty of food and she never has to worry about getting beaten or blown up.

As written by Trever's soldier: