Afghanistan is a country that’s filled to the brim and overflowing with troubles. The human costs of war are huge and undeniable. I was pointed in the direction of the charity Nowzad Dogs the other day, and I must admit I’d never considered the impact of war on the animals of the country.
Nowzad Dogs mission statement is as follows:
The aim of the charity is to improve the welfare of the animals of Afghanistan; which includes humanely reducing the stray dog population which in turn will reduce the incidents of canine rabies, provide animal welfare education for the Afghan people and develop training programmes to improve the lives of working animals
Nowzad Dogs proudly boasts the first and only official dog and cat shelter for strays in Afghanistan. It looks after 100 dogs and about 30 cats, trying to minimise the impact of a crappy time on the confused creatures.
The team busies themselves with neutering, spaying and treating general illnesses so that the population of stray dogs in the country will be permanently improved by their work.
The hope is that they can help the dogs in the short run, but also change perceptions and attitudes to dogs in the long run too. Hopefully carving out a more respectful and healthy relationship between man and beast.
The organisation had its beginnings in 2006 with the Kilo Company of 42 Commando Royal Marines in the town of Now Zad in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. The company’s job was to improve the stability of the resident’s lives, but they ended up broadening their scopes to include our hairy cousins too.
Breaking up an organised dog fight that was taking place right outside their remote compound, Royal Marine Sergeant ‘Pen’ Farthing never considered that one of those fighting dogs would end up befriending him. The former fighting dog became the Royal Marines canine pal, got named Nowzad and a movement was born.
If you would like to help this innovative charity with a small financial donation:
SPONSOR NOWZAD CYCLISTS AT PRUDENTIAL RIDELONDON-SURREY 100
