I had meant to write about this last week to compliment the article I’d done on no cost ways to donate to the ASPCA. However, the unexpected babysitting duties sort of threw my schedule all off kilter last week.
However, even though I had planned to write about it, I knew I had to get on it when my dear friend Sandra Worth sent me an email with a link to her site about a cause she’d just become aware of: the SPCA International’s Operation Baghdad Pups.
I think the reason it captured her interest was for the same reason it captured mine.
The Letter
Like with the ASPCA, I also get a lot of literature from SPCAI because I’ve donated to them in the past. They recently sent me my 2008 SPCAI Supporter Kit, which included a little folder with a picture of a dog on the front and the phrase “No Buddy Gets Left Behind.”
Inside was my supporter card, some stationary with my name on it and that dog’s picture, as well as labels. Nice!
But it was the letter accompanying my package that got me. It detailed their programs that my money helps fund. In addition to sponsoring veterinary students who volunteer their time in third world countries to care for pet populations there, the SPCAI is most excited about it’s program that helps get animals out of the Middle East. Ones that soldiers have become attached to and cared for during their tour of duties.
Charlie: The Pup That Started It All
The letter told about Sgt. Watson of the U.S. Armed Forces and the little puppy he’d found while on patrol. Sgt. Watson named him Charlie in honor of the company he was serving with.
Charlie wasn’t in very good shape. He was in such bad shape Sgt. Watson didn’t expect him to survive, but he gave him water and a share of his rations and guess who started thriving? Little Charlie!
He quickly became the unit’s mascot.
Temporarily…
Soldier Ordered to Move On –-Sans Charlie
When Sgt. Watson and his unit got orders to go elsewhere he couldn’t take Charlie. But that little guy had been what he called “a four-legged morale booster” and stood as “a living symbol of the power of love and compassion over war and despair.”
Sgt. Watson just couldn’t abandon him!
Sgt. Watson Asks for Help
The Army couldn’t help, but the SPCAI could. They got Charlie out of Iraq by arranging for transportation, shots, vet review and medical clearance.
All of this was made possible because of donations. Which you better believe I’ll be making again and again and again to try and save as many Charlies as I can. What about you?
Courtney Mroch writes about animals great and small in Pets and the harmony and strife that encompasses married life in Marriage. For a full listing of her articles click here.
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