Dogs Reunite With The 20 Veterans Who Saved Them After Months Of Waiting

Jul 21, 2022, 2:02 PM

woman in orange hi-vis vest cuddling dog on airport tarmac

Facebook | SPCA International

20 former street dogs from Afghanistan are finally finding their forever homes after the U.S. veterans who first rescued them got to see them again for the first time in months.

It's no secret that a lot of shelters are crowded with animals in need, but there's also a dedicated network of pilots helping them to get places where they're more likely to find a permanent home. But while one of their missions could happen at any time, some rescue organizations have thought of more ambitious plans to get vulnerable creatures away from certain danger.

And one of those plans has seen an impressive number of animals saved from unsafe situations in Afghanistan, but some of them had already made friends with some American military personnel before they left.

Now, those friendships are finally being allowed to continue unfettered.

During the period when the U.S. Military was active in Afghanistan, it wasn't unusual for service members to befriend and rescue the homeless dogs they encountered.

dog standing in front of fence while wearing leash

Facebook | SPCA International

According to People, many of those service members have found an opportunity to reunite with their new friends thanks to SPCA International's Operation Baghdad Pups: Worldwide program that's taken care of the costs and logistics required to bring them together.

But while that program was been responsible for 1,200 of these reunions since its inception, they became much more difficult to arrange in recent months.

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That's because the CDC enacted a temporary ban on the importation of dogs from over 100 different countries in June of 2021 due to rabies concerns.

SPCA worker petting happy dog in front of fence

Facebook | SPCA International

And that was bad news for 20 dogs that were set to be paired up with the veterans who informally adopted them before the ban took place.

Although these dogs were able to escape Afghanistan unharmed, they found themselves holed up in a boarding facility in Montreal, Canada for seven months while they waited for a reverse on the ban.

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And on June 3, that day finally came as the CDC relaxed the ban for dogs who met the right conditions.

Airport workers stand by conveyer belt as dog in crate descends from plane

Facebook | SPCA International

Specifically, the eligible animals had to microchipped, vaccinated against rabies, and at least six months old.

According to a Facebook statement by SPCA International, all 20 of the dogs would meet those requirements by the following month and on July 18, they were finally able to fly from Canada to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City.

As the organization wrote, "It's been a very long journey for these dogs, but their smiles and happy tail wags let us know they're happy to be one step closer to home."

And while we can see here that some of the veterans were able to meet their long-awaited dogs at the airport, the other reunions are expected to happen within the next few days.

Facebook | SPCA International

As SPCA International executive director Ina Clark said, "It is so heartwarming to reunite our U.S. service members with the dogs they befriended while deployed, and we're excited for the men and women whose furry friends from abroad will now join their family."

h/t: People