Often when brave men and women are serving in a war zone they find themselves rescuing one of the many stray dogs or cats that are struggling to survive there, Former Royal Marine Commando Sgt 'Pen Farthing' knows this all too well, after rescuing the dog that started an entire animal welfare movement 'Nowzad'.
Who rescued who?
These soldiers are not only a salvation for the animal; the dog or cat are often described as 'lifelines' to their soldier, providing a respite from war, a moment of peace, home and love.
When the soldier's tour of duty comes to an end, it is unthinkable to leave their four legged comrade that they've bonded with, behind.
This is where we step in...
We arrange for the animal to safely get to the safety of the Nowzad clinic, we then provide shelter for the animal as well as vaccinations.
We also spay/neuter ALL rescues and provide any required medical attention.
Then, we carry out all necessary checks and paperwork to get the dog or cat to their loving forever home ? wherever it is in the world.
Our amazing family of supporters never cease to amaze us how they rally to reach the target necessary to get the much loved dog or cat home to their new life.
War zone Rescues: Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Kuwait, Ukraine and Libya
Homecomings: USA, UK, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Spain, Jordan Thailand and South Africa.
To date we are proud to say that we have reunited over 1200 dogs or cats with the compassionate soldiers that have rescued them!
But there's more...
Nowzad proudly boasts the first and only official animal shelter in Afghanistan.
Our well designed and purpose built shelter in Kabul provides a safe home for over 130 dogs. We also have a purpose built cat shelter housing over 40 former street cats rescued by locals or soldiers. Our work has now extended to rehabilitating former working donkeys in a peaceful and caring environment in what is a first for Afghanistan; the Nowzad donkey sanctuary.
Normal dog food brands that you could buy in the west are often hard to come by in Afghanistan and so we feed our dogs daily with a soup of rice, naan bread, meat, carrots and potatoes. The dogs are also exercised in purpose built dog runs.
Our Afghan staff take great personal pride in the welfare of all our animals and some even now have adopted dogs of their own!
Daily health checks are carried out by our highly qualified Afghan veterinarians and any necessary treatment is carried out immediately as required.
Our aim is to re-home all of the dogs that end up in our shelter; firstly to loving homes in Afghanistan where we have had great success, or for those who have already been fostered or cared for by ex-pats living in Kabul, we aim to rehome them in the west.