Leave No Pet Behind: Returning U.S. Soldiers, Diplomats Work to Bring Home Furry Friends

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The military has generally cooperated with nonprofits to help soldiers and other personnel bring home their pets. In June, the Defense Department also announced new rules that allowed relocating military personnel to be reimbursed for pet travel expenses. The U.S. government now covers shipping and quarantine fees, saying it recognizes the role pets play in military families.

Louise Hastie, a British veteran of the Iraq war, began rescuing cats and dogs after completing her military service. Through the nonprofit War Paws, she is often the first port of call for British and American soldiers in Syria, where the locations of personnel are supposed to stay highly classified. Hastie says she has smuggled so many cats and dogs out of Syria that she now knows exactly the bases and military installations where everyone is located, often alarming military leaders stationed there.

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Animal-rescue groups in war zones often come under fire for saving pets when human lives are at stake. But their advocates argue that cats, dogs and other animals can provide life-changing comfort to the human survivors of war. In a sign of public support, nonprofits that work to rescue these animals have gained sizable social-media followings. Appeals on social media for logistical or financial support to bring home a particular cat or dog regularly attract hundreds of comments and shares, not to mention money.

One internet star is a tabby cat named Screech, who lived at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul and was evacuated by the nonprofit Kabul Small Animal Rescue, a clinic and shelter. The clinic initially tried to evacuate its cats and dogs, including Screech, during the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, but was unsuccessful. The U.S. military made matters worse by releasing the dogs inside the airport before leaving, and it took the clinic days to gather them up again.

Screech, who remained at the clinic, returned to the Kabul airport six months later with the Taliban’s blessings and flew to Canada with more than 250 cats and dogs cleared for evacuation. Bonnie Davidson, Screech’s new owner, says the cat’s antics, which include disappearing into a chimney, have earned her an Instagram following of more than 2,000 fans. The tabby eventually popped her head out of the chimney upside down to look around. Davidson said the tabby’s escapades will soon be chronicled in a book for children.

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