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British
soldiers save an Afghan dog of war
A STRAY dog adopted by British soldiers when they arrived in
Kabul to set up the International Security Assistance Force
has been flown back with them because they could not bear to
see him made homeless again.
‘Tiger’ was adopted by Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant
Graeme Smith and his deputy, Sgt Mick Hart, at an old wine factory
on the outskirts of Kabul where they had set up their camp.
The two soldiers are from 216 Signals Squadron, based in Colchester.
"Mick and I just came across this little puppy," said
RQMS Smith, 36, from Irvine, Ayrshire. "He was scrawny,
undernourished and scared stiff of anyone he saw. So we fed
him and he started tagging along." As more soldiers poured
into the new camp, they too began petting and feeding Tiger.
"Everyone looked after the dog," said RQMS Smith.
"I was the first one he met so he was just loyal to me."
Tiger insisted on sleeping in the soldier's tent. "It was
quite an austere environment but we got hold of an Afghan rug
we bought in town as a sort of home improvement and he slept
on that." added RQMS Smith.
So much attention was lavished on Tiger that there was concern
that it might affect the dog's health.
"We had to control his feeding, because everyone was sharing
their lunch with him and he was getting fat," said Major
Alex Dick.
The animal even received attention from Jamie Darling, presenter
of BBC television's Animal Hospital. Darling, a 35-year-old
Australian vet, was in Kabul working alongside the World Society
for the Protection of Animals to check out Kabul's zoo animals.
None of the experts was sure what mix of breeds had produced
Tiger. He looks like a cross between a Collie and a Labrador
although all agreed he was more likely to be from a long line
of mongrels.
Soldiers were soon expressing concern over what might happen
to Tiger when they left. "They made me promise at gunpoint
that I'd find a home for the animal if they could get him to
Britain," Darling said.
The Daily Telegraph publicised Tiger’s story in the hope
of finding him a good home, at the personal intervention of
Editor Charles Moore who met Tiger during a visit to Kabul in
January. The dog’s quarantine fees are being paid by the
newspaper.
Last Thursday, the dog flew back to Britain on an Antonov transport
aircraft hired to bring home the remnants of 16 Air Assault
Brigade and was taken to the Par Air kennels at Stanway, near
Colchester.
Owner Mike Parrish said he was delighted to be helping Tiger
on the first stage of his rehabilitation in the UK. "He’s
doing well, he’s very friendly and he gets a lot of attention,"
said Mr Parrish. "He wasn’t too keen on having a bath
when he arrived, because he does rather like rolling in the
mud, but he looks super now."
Tiger's first visitor was RQMS Smith. "I went to see him
on Friday and again yesterday," he said. "He's fine."
But he and his girlfriend Sharon live in a small flat with no
garden so they cannot keep him.
"He is quite an independent dog," said RQMS Smith.
"We are really looking for someone who lives out in the
country to come forward and offer to look after him. We want
to find him an owner soon so they can begin bonding with him
while he is still in the kennels."
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