Nowzad Dogs from Afghanistan

You may already have seen in the press the story of dogs rescued by a unit of Royal Marines in Afghanistan. These dogs live by their wits in the middle of a war zone and are routinely brutalised by the locals. They are captured by the use of wire nooses and used for dog fighting; if they do not fight they are beaten with sticks until they do. At the end of the fight they are thrown back onto the street with no treatment for their wounds. If they survive they have to scavenge again until someone else thinks that it would be fun to arrange another dog fight.

Nowzad the 1st dog rescued. Note the severed ears

It was during such a fight that Sergeant 'Penny' Farthing and his unit arrived and broke up the proceedings. The dogs that were being beaten made good their escape in the confusion. some days later when 'Pen' was searching outbuildings he heard a growl from the darkness and saw one of the dogs involved in the earlier fight. He was sheltering and recovering from his injuries which included having his ears hacked off. By using a lot of kindnesss, patience and of course military ration packs Pen was able to gain the dogs trust, he took him back to his unit base and named him 'Nowzad', the name of the town where he was rescued. Other rescues followed none of which were free of danger for either the Marines or the dogs involved.

Tali, Nowzad's housemate

There was tragedy and heartbreak along the way as well as joy. It is an ongoing saga with hopefully a very happy ending. Nowzad has certainly landed on his feet and now lives at home with his rescuer 'Pen' and his wife Lisa in a happy pack that includes another rescue dog from Afghanistan, 'Tali' as well as the already resident Spaniel and Rottweiler. Although Nowzad can be aggressive to other dogs due to his history of abuse he is at heart a really nice dog. Not surprisingly he is also not keen on men with beards. He is at this early stage, muzzled at times to allow him time to assess the situation. The last thing he needs is for some well meaning but unthinking person to push him into a situation in which he feels threatened and has to resort to the 'fight' option. You'll see that both dogs wear harnesses. this because they are very sensitive around their neck areas due to the wire nooses used on them. Nowzad also had throat wounds from fighting.

On seeing the reports a friend and colleague of mine Caroline Spencer felt that Amichien Bonding would be the ideal method of dealing with the trauma that these dogs had suffered and so contacted 'Pen' and offered her assistance. He quickly accepted her offer, he and his wife are totally dedicated to this cause and work non stop as well as serving in the armed forces at a time of massive overstretch and minimum support from the powers that be. they need all the help they can get so get supporting.

Caroline contacted me and told me about her offer and I jumped at the chance to help although it's very much Caroline's project. Nowzad has been nominated alongside other deserving dogs for an award. The winner will be announced on the last night of Crufts. Pen will be going to the presentation should Nowzad win. At this stage Nowzad is too traumatised to be placed in such a big and noisy arena and we will not put him in that situation if he's not ready. We will however do our best.

Earlier this week Caroline and I travelled to Pen's location and met Nowzad, Tali and the rest of the pack. I was amazed how good natured Nowzad was after all the things that mankind had done to him, although he did give me a firm warning when I moved unexpectedley soon after meeting him, was I bovvered? Yes. 'Pen', Lisa and Caroline did a huge amount of work starting in the back garden, moving to the front and culminating in being able to walk him onto the road without a muzzle and with people and dogs passing. I acted as the 'stooge' and also demonstrated the 'Delboy Swagger' to 'Pen'. If nothing else it got Caroline laughing.

L-R 'Pen', Caroline, Lisa. Note, no muzzle

Whether Nowzad makes it to Crufts only time will tell. He has a huge mountain to climb but in 'Pen' and Lisa he has all the support he could wish for. Caroline and I will be there every step of the way. Watch this space and watch Crufts on TV in March.