Back in 2010 I was able to rescue two dogs from Iraq. Charlie and Bandit.
They were rescued from an Iraqi Border Patrol outpost on the Euphrates River. When my unit, Special Boat Team 22, pulled in to do a meet and greet with them they were throwing a whole litter of pups into the river and watching them drown. Muslims do not view dogs the same way Americans do. There was only two left. Guns were almost drawn and the Iraqis were told to stand down forcefully. The dogs made it back to our compound and were raised with us until we left about 8 months later. They're about 11 years old right now.
It took a lot of effort to get them to the States. My mother is involved in an animal rescue organization called Saving Pets At Risk and if it wasn't for them and SPCA-International we couldn't have raised the money to get the dogs home from Iraq. Since they weren't official Military Working Dogs they could not be brought home on a military flight.
We were tied to SEAL Team 8 and those guys usually get anything they request and they were down for taking them on their flight out but it was a Dept. of Agriculture thing and they were worried about diseases and such from live animals.
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