Operation Baghdad Pups: The Furry Side of Combat

Rather than shopping at pet stores or breeders, many dog owners turn to rescues or shelters when looking for a new dog. With so many wonderful dogs waiting to be adopted, there are myriad opportunities for each of us to save a dog’s life by giving it our love, and a little spot to call home.

In war-torn Iraq, however, animal shelters are unheard of, leaving thousands of dogs stray in the streets to die.

Some of these pups have found their way into the lives of US soldiers deployed in Iraq–but what becomes of these dogs when their human companions’ tours end and it’s time for them to go back home? Bringing animals back to US soil, or even befriending them overseas, is against military regulations (see section 2i of GO-1A), making a return to the Iraqi streets the only option for these dogs. It is in this desperate climate that US soldiers reached out to SPCA International which, with its program Operation Baghdad Pups, is giving whole new meaning to the term “rescue dog.”

Operation Baghdad Pups began in 2007 with an email sent to SPCA International from a young soldier in Iraq who was desperate to give Charlie, a dog he and his regiment had befriended, a new life in the United States. “Taking care of Charlie gave me something to look forward to every day,” one soldier explained. “When all the guys got to playing with him we forgot where we were, the horrible things we had seen, and what we still had to go through. Charlie definitely made our time in Iraq more bearable. He was like a welcomed piece of home right here in the midst of Baghdad.” Unwilling to leave the dog who had done so much for them to fend for himself on the streets of Iraq, and unable to bring him home through military channels, the regiment reached out to SPCA International with a plea for help–a plea that was not to be ignored.

Charlie’s rescue was the first of Operation Baghdad Pups, a program that has rescued over 100 dogs and cats to date. Operation Baghdad Pups comprises a group of very courageous individuals who make monthly trips to Iraq to rescue the dogs befriended by US soldiers who are returning home. “The goal,” said Program Manager Terri Crisp in a phone interview last week, “is to get the dog out and to the soldier’s family before the soldier leaves Iraq.”

But these rescues are no easy task. Every month, a team of three SPCA International team members flies into Iraq, and then staggers their returns over three separate flights. Each team member can fly back with four dogs, so at the best of times, Operation Baghdad Pups can rescue up to 12 animals per trip (all animals must meet the program’s selection criteria). Sometimes, however, not everything goes as planned. “It’s always a challenge,” Crisp explains. “Past missions have been cancelled for safety reasons due to instability in the region. On another mission, the security company we use got stopped at a roadblock just outside the airport, causing them to miss the flight.” With the increasing stabilization of Iraq, the trips get easier, but still, says Crisp, “No two missions are alike.”

On average, Operation Baghdad Pups gets 10 requests a week from soldiers, marines, and military contractors seeking to get dogs they’ve befriended back to the US safely, but that number can spike dramatically if a large platoon gets notice that they’re going home. “We’re getting a lot of word-of-mouth now amongst the soldiers, which is great,” says Terri. “We want to help rescue as many dogs as we can.”

The increased demand, however, puts ever more pressure on the strapped organization. “It costs about $4,000 per animal to bring dogs home,” explains Crisp, a cost which includes airfare, security, immunizations, and ground transport. “I’d like to send four people on our next trip so we can try and get more dogs out, but it will depend on our funding.”

The program’s biggest issue right now is beating the heat embargo. Due to the extreme weather conditions in the Middle East, the airline that carries the rescues will not allow animals to be transported between June 1 and September 30 each year. This means that Operation Baghdad Pups has only one month left to rescue the dogs for all the soldiers who will be leaving Iraq before September. Any dogs not rescued by June 1 will, unfortunately, have to be left behind.

“We feel so good knowing that we’re rescuing these dogs and giving the soldiers peace of mind with the knowledge that the animals won’t be left on the street when they leave,” Terri says. Soldiers have described finding puppies cowering amidst gunfire, pulling dogs out of burn piles, and catching men burying dogs alive. “One group of soldiers was out on patrol one day,” Terri recounted. “They passed by a circle of men kicking around what they thought was a soccer ball, but when they got closer they realized it was a little black and white dog.” The soldiers took the pup with them, and Operation Baghdad Pups helped bring him home.

Similarly, some months ago, a group of US soldiers out on patrol noticed a man kicking a bag down a dusty road. While they first assumed it was full of trash, a whimper from within the bag told them otherwise. The soldiers rescued the dog, taking him back with them to their base. Bagger, as he came to be known, is one of the many dogs Operation Baghdad Pups will be rescuing from Iraq this spring before the heat embargo sets in.

“Education is needed,” Crisp states matter-of-factly. “There isn’t the same respect for animals there that there is here. SPCA International would eventually like to encourage and promote humane education in Iraq, and try to help people understand that living creatures should be respected, not abused, and that, really, they’ve been missing out–they’re missing out on the wonderful bond that humans can have with their dogs.” For now, though, they’ll focus on rescuing as many dogs as they can, and helping honor the canine companions who help US troops through the harsh days and brutal days of their active duty in Iraq.

i Love Dogs has been a proud sponsor of Operation Baghdad Pups since 2007, when the program first began. But with the 2009 heat embargo looming, Operation Baghdad Pups needs everyone’s help now more than ever.

Donations will allow more SPCA International team members to make the May trip, thus increasing the dogs they can save before the heat embargo goes into effect. The program also has a wish list of items it needs on an ongoing basis to help ensure  “no buddy gets left behind.”

Here are some of the dogs Operation Baghdad Pups has saved: