Home » News » Mine-Detecting Dogs Find Homes After Honorable Work in Afghanistan

News

Mine-Detecting Dogs Find Homes After Honorable Work in Afghanistan

February 25, 2007, 12:0AM MT

By Michelle Buckalew

Request for Homes Turns into Urban Legend

Request for Homes Turns into Urban Legend

By Cathy Scott, Best Friends Animal Society

More than two-dozen German shepherds and Belgian Malnois -- recently retired from five years of mine detecting in Afghanistan -- are now in their new homes.

Each was placed over the weekend with expatriates who adopted them with the stipulation that they would take their dogs with them should they move out of Kabul, according to Lloyd Carpenter, project manager in Afghanistan for Weapons Removal and Abatement, a group that helped spread the word that the dogs needed permanent homes.

But that’s not all that spread. The original message from U.N. officials, on behalf of a not-for-profit group, sent out an e-mail asking for help finding 26 working German shepherds new homes because they were being retired. Lloyd added a note at the bottom of the e-mail, with his contact information, then sent it to international agencies in Kabul. The dogs were offered only to expatriates living in Kabul.

“The group did not want the dogs to stay in country,” Lloyd said in a telephone interview from Kabul. But the e-mail was intercepted and forwarded to hundreds of people in the U.S.

The problem, Lloyd said, was that it was “cut, pasted, altered, renamed, edited and bent” -- so much so, that it no longer resembled the original message. The e-mail, in just a couple days, changed before his eyes, he said, including the addition that the dogs were going to be euthanized on Saturday if they were not adopted.

“It reminded me of that game we used to play as kids, where we whispered something in a person’s ear,” Lloyd said. “They passed it on, and we were amused by what came out at the end of the line.”

He also likened it to an urban legend, or an apocryphal story, which varies in the telling but is always told as true, yet attributed to a second- or third-hand source, including a forwarded e-mail.

It was the same with Lloyd’s e-mailed message: What was later returned to him changed drastically. It included the new subject line of “VERY URGENT!!! - 26 PB German Shepherds to be KILLED/WAR VETS!”

“I didn’t send out an urgent request to the rescue community,” he said, “and they’re not military dogs.”

More than 300 people responded with e-mails, some of which were not so friendly. “You should see the hate-mail coming to me,” he said. “Hundreds of them.”

He’s answering each and every one, trying to set the record straight. It took him until midnight Saturday to respond to 200 people. His message to concerned animal lovers? “No dogs were killed. All found homes.”

Before they were adopted out, the dogs belonged to Mine Dog Center, a non-governmental organization that does humanitarian landmine clearance. “I was just one of the people helping to bring in the folks who wanted to adopt,” Lloyd said.

And adopt, they did. The three-day event was held Thursday, Friday and Saturday. “We could have adopted even more if we’d had more dogs,” he said. “We didn’t have enough dogs to go around.”

Pictured: Dogs and adopters in Kabul, Afghanistan, during a three-day event. Photo compliments of Lloyd Carpenter.

Comments

Posted October 29, 2007, 10:42AM by maddiessport

I truely believe that the US GOV. should be ashamed of themselves. They did the same thing in Vietnam they destroyed all the dogs in the military. They did the same with the horses and I think if they're going to use these animals they should find homes for them all after their service is done. But they won't because they are piss poor excuses for americans. And yet they can drive drunk and get away with it.

Posted February 25, 2007, 9:30AM by kathypat70005

how wonsweful for each one of these dogs. I'm sure they will be a joy to their new familoes

Posted February 25, 2007, 1:40PM by dogsorbust

How terrific!!!!

Posted February 25, 2007, 1:46PM by FrancisB

Yes. Good news and Lloyd is a good man. Just a technicallity, but some of the dogs are Belgian Malnois as the one pictured in the foreground.

Posted February 25, 2007, 3:32PM by cathyscott

So noted. Thanks, Francis.

Posted February 26, 2007, 2:15PM by dhall5

I am thrilled that all of the dogs found homes! It's quite disturbing, however, that Mine Dog Center does not take the responsibility of placing these retired dogs into good homes. Shouldn't that be their reward for years of hard labor, instead of euthanasia? How sad.

Posted February 26, 2007, 3:45PM by nolavolunteer

It sure makes you wonder about what is true in emails and what is not!! Thank you Lloyd for helping these brave dogs!

Posted February 27, 2007, 3:42PM by cyndy

The dogs were not part of the US armed forces… they belong to a humanitarian landmine clearance organization;

· The dogs are not “warriors”… they performed a humanitarian service to clear landmines so that humans wouldn’t lose life or limb to them;

This is part of an e-mail I received from Lloyd after I e-mailed him stating that I felt the dogs has done a great service and deserved better then to be tossed aside without a thought. And my comments regarding the fact I felt the company that brought the dogs in should be responsible for the animal's well being after if had seemingly "served it's purpose". (this was prior to me knowing they were going to be adopted.)

He didn't like my comment that they were "soldiers/warriors" and did not seem to be sympathetic in anyway to their supposed demise.

I feel that the company that brings them to the country should be the one's that help the dogs get adopted and found a family to live out the rest of their lives with. It should be in writing that the company is made to find a family to reward the dogs for their service and loyalty.

Posted February 25, 2007, 3:46PM by doggymama4

Thank goodness to read that these great ,deserving and beautiful dogs have found homes.......

Posted February 25, 2007, 4:3PM by sharkster

I also think that its great that all these dogs found wonderful homes, but i'm also a little concerned that the other comments seemed to gleam over the fact that Lloyd's original email was changed drastically. I think its all our responsibilities to get the correct information out there ,to many times people will use improper methods to get stories across. I hope in the future people will take the time to make sure the information is correct before they start posting and cross posting on the web.

Posted February 25, 2007, 5:35PM by gotchintz

It's so nice to hear about good things like this being done with such deserving dogs after they've done dangerous, demanding work in Afghanistan. It warms my heart that Lloyd Carpenter is not only caring and understanding concerning these retired dogs but also understands the way that information can get distorted. He didn't let it get in the way of his goal which was to find new homes for each of these dogs. Great job, Lloyd and thanks for writing this story, Cathy!

Posted February 25, 2007, 6:29PM by themb4me

So wonderful...to provide a nice retirement for "soldiers" who were faithful in their duty.

Posted February 25, 2007, 8:6PM by marla

I am so very Happy for the Good News

Thank You for letting us know!

Posted February 25, 2007, 9:25PM by poochpower

Very nice.

Posted February 26, 2007, 10:7AM by cottageantiques

I love reading stories like this one. There are so many good people out there like Lloyd that make other people want to do positive things for animals. It brings out the best in everyone when we can share a great story like this! That's a lot of dogs to place and Lloyd and a lot of other giving people made it happen. Love it!

Posted February 26, 2007, 12:51PM by cattees

Wonderful news - thank you so much for the update. Kudo's to Lloyd!

Posted February 26, 2007, 2:43PM by cathyscott

To dhall5:
Just to clarify, Mine Dog Center did take responsibility for placing the dogs in homes. They were at the adoption event with the dogs. They simply asked that others in Kabul help get out the word that they needed permanent homes. As a result, alll 26 were placed.

Posted February 26, 2007, 4:26PM by gr8rxdotcom

Much time and trouble could've been averted if Lloyd simply replied to the first of the emails that were sent around......he could've nipped it in the bud ...when I get an email from a rescue friend I recognize I don't take extra time to check it out if it sounds reasonable...I cc'd to Lloyd in the emails I sent out and never heard from him until everyone was jumping in to save the dogs....better safe than sorry!

He stated: "They passed it on, and we were amused by what came out at the end of the line." If it was so amusing, why is he complaining? Surely things are not that dull in Afghanistan?

The end result is that all the dogs were rescued! That's a good thing:)
Plus, I met some more great rescue contacts ....that's always a plus!

Posted March 01, 2007, 12:47AM by LCarpenter1

Friends:

Greetings from Afghanistan! Thank you all for your offers of assistance! We've collected the names and contact information of everyone who'd like to help. For the many disappointed prospective adopters: the waiting list at the non-profit dog center is now years long. Please be patient!

I've received over 600 emails in the last week about adopting these dogs. I've responded to every one I've received. If you wrote and haven't received a response, it was likely blocked as spam or lost under other such techical issues. If yours was lost, please accept my apologies, and my sincere gratitude for your generosity and heartfelt concern.

For those of you who would still like to help, I would like to encourage you to contact the Marshall Legacy Institute in the United States. Their website URL is: http://www.marshall-legacy.org/ . They have been instrumental in providing mine dogs to mine affected countries around the world, preventing countless tragedies. Their dedication to the landmine clearance cause is commendable. But, don't take my word for it; read about it for yourself at their website!

Sincerely,

Lloyd