Bear and Jack

Bear was born to Claire on New Year’s Day 2011 in Marjah (Helmand Province) where they both made their home with the Marines at the small operating base near the Marjah District Center.

Claire and the Marines trained Bear well and by the time Holly Barnes met Bear (along with his brother and Claire) in June 2011, he was already a profoundly kind, well-behaved, gentle hearted dog. Though just 6 months of age at the time, he was already nearly as big as Holly. In spite of knowing she was only there on temporary assignment, she fell in love with his sweetness and vowed to adopt him some day. In the meantime, she would leave him with the Marines who loved him too and who clearly benefited from the morale boost that he provided.

Shortly after departing Marjah for her long-term assignment in Kandahar Province, Holly learned that the new BSO (battle space owner) in Marjah had put out an order that all dogs were to be removed from base.

Holly immediately expedited rescue of a Claire, Bear and another dog, Jack, with significant assistance of the Marines and Nowzad. The journey to Kabul via helicopter and plane was 3-days long and difficult for all of them. Soon after her arrival to Kabul, Claire was sent to the U.S. to be reunited with Marine Major in North Carolina. Bear and Jack made the difficult journey to Kabul where they await the end of Holly’s year-long tour at Nowzad’s shelter. Meanwhile, these big dogs are quite expensive for Nowzad to keep and Holly is daunted (but will be undeterred) by the cost of getting them to to their new home. Even after being with them for such a short time, she is confident that her dream -- for a soft, warm place where they never have to be afraid for their lives – is also theirs. Holly would be deeply grateful for any assistance you can provide to keep them fed and protected from the cold in Kabul and to get them to their new home in the U.S.

And finally, dear, silly Jack. Jack is originally from Lashkargah. He was a puppy running wild when the Marines on a logistics run found him and put him in their truck the summer of 2010. He then made his hom with the Marines at the Marjah District Center in Helmand Province. Jack was known by the Marines for his climbing skills, especially where it came to scaling HESCO barriers and climbing up and down ladders. He will visit the Marines while they stand post where the only way to get to them is climbing a ladder. When Holly Barnes met him, he was quite dirty and seemed sickly, but his sweet, gentle, independent soul was even more apparent. Since his rescue, he has been at the shelter in Nowzad waiting for Holly’s redeployment. She will adopt him and take him and his buddy Bear home to the U.S. in February 2012.

Question: How is the money I donate spent? How do I know it is used to help an Afghan stray companion animal? Can my donation go towards a specific animal?

Answer from Nowzad: As a charity we are bound by the strict auditing regulations demanded by the UK charity commission. The board of trustees make sure the money is used to maximum effect in making a difference to the lives of animals in Afghanistan, which includes the daily running costs of the Nowzad Afghan shelter, rescue transport costs, animal food and medicines (including vaccines) and of course our Afghan staff wages. If, for whatever reason the companion animal rescue is not successful (disease or injury) then Nowzad will use the money collected on this ChipIn page to support the daily running of the Nowzad shelter – if you are not happy with our policy then please do not donate as we are unable to offer refunds. Donating via ChipIn is not tax deductible. Please visit the Soldiers’ Animals Companion fund www.sacfund.com if you wish to make a tax-deductible donation from the US. If you have any further questions about how to donate then please just ask at donations@nowzad.com

We would like to make everybody aware that this ChipIn page is not the only method that is being used to fund raise for the rescue costs associated with this companion animal from Afghanistan. The total required for a companion animal to travel to north America is on average $4000 (we make no profit and everything is subject to currency valuations and fuel prices on the day). To try and reflect the donations received from sources such as the Soldier’s Animals Companion Fund www.sacfund.com or via direct PayPal transfers, you may see the total amount required for this particular ChipIn less than the $4000 average. If you need further explanation then please just ask!


Nowzad Dogs is a registered charity (non-profit) 1119185 in England and Wales