Some of the animals will be reunited with their owners while others will be put up for adoption
Hundreds of animals stranded in Afghanistan arrived in Vancouver on Tuesday night, after more than six months of rescue efforts by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).
A total of 158 dogs and 146 cats touched down at Vancouver International Airport (YVR) aboard a specially converted Russian Ilyushin 76-TD aircraft after stops in Turkey and Iceland.
SPCA International said partners in Kabul reached out to them regarding the pets when U.S. forces withdrew from Afghanistan.
The groups hoped to evacuate the animals to North America at the time of the withdrawal, but the volatile situation combined with logistical issues resulted in the delay.
“These animals have been on the plane for quite some time,” Lori Kalef, director of programs for SPCA International, said prior their arrival. “We had to reroute at the last minute due to the conflict going on in Russia.”
From YVR, the animals will be transferred to a specially constructed 1,600-square metre facility.
Kalef said about 66 of the animals will be reunited with their owners, while another two dozen will stay with the SPCA until their owners are able to retrieve them.
The others will be put up for adoption across North America.
Anyone interested in adopting one of the animals can visit the SPCA International website. Applications will be handled by SPCA International and the B.C.-based RainCoast Dog Rescue Society.
Treacherous rescue mission
In a statement, the SPCA said numerous pets were left behind in shelters when their owners fled the country following the Taliban takeover.
A local charity, Kabul Small Animal Rescue, had saved more than 70 dogs from Kabul International Airport and rescued dozens of other animals abandoned by owners when they were forced to flee.
Dog Rescued 1 Year Ago Still Continues To Hug His New Mom Every Day She Comes Back Home
Meet Kylo, the rescue doggie who feels so grateful for being saved from a shelter, he just wants to snuggle and hug his human mom the moment she steps into their house. “As soon as I sit down to take off my shoes he climbs into my lap to be held,” Meghan Sweers, Kylo’s new owner, told The Dodo. “If I don’t sit down for our cuddle time he follows me around with the saddest most pathetic look on his face until I give in and hold him.”
But it wasn’t always like that – when he was just 10 months old, Kylo was surrendered to the shelter, and, once pulled away from it, spent ages at a foster home with no one showing interest in the goofy dog – until Sweers and her husband showed up.
Kylo’s first night at their home went absolutely perfect. “He crawled into my lap, tucked his head under my chin, and started snoring like a chainsaw,” Sweers said. “From that moment my husband and I knew he was staying with us!”
Kylo the hugging dog is so grateful for finding a loving forever home, he gives love to everyone he meets now. “He wins people over a bit forcibly… by climbing into their lap and falling asleep.”
Meet Kylo, the rescue who can’t stop hugging his owner for saving him
Every day when she enters the house, Kylo demands some snuggles and hugs
“As soon as I sit down to take off my shoes he climbs into my lap to be held”
“If I don’t sit down for our cuddle time he follows me around…”
Meghan Sweers rescued the doggie from a shelter a year ago, when he was 10 months old
Kylo the hugging pibble has been particularly attached to her ever since
“He wins people over a bit forcibly… by climbing into their lap and falling asleep”
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