Planeload of abandoned dogs and cats from Afghanistan arrives in Vancouver

Some of the animals will be reunited with their owners while others will be put up for adoption

Hundreds of animals stranded in Afghanistan arrived in Vancouver on Tuesday night, after more than six months of rescue efforts by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).

A total of 158 dogs and 146 cats touched down at Vancouver International Airport (YVR) aboard a specially converted Russian Ilyushin 76-TD aircraft after stops in Turkey and Iceland.

SPCA International said partners in Kabul reached out to them regarding the pets when U.S. forces withdrew from Afghanistan.

The groups hoped to evacuate the animals to North America at the time of the withdrawal, but the volatile situation combined with logistical issues resulted in the delay.

“These animals have been on the plane for quite some time,” Lori Kalef, director of programs for SPCA International, said prior their arrival. “We had to reroute at the last minute due to the conflict going on in Russia.”

From YVR, the animals will be transferred to a specially constructed 1,600-square metre facility.

Kalef said about 66 of the animals will be reunited with their owners, while another two dozen will stay with the SPCA until their owners are able to retrieve them. 

The others will be put up for adoption across North America. 

Anyone interested in adopting one of the animals can visit the SPCA International website. Applications will be handled by SPCA International and the B.C.-based RainCoast Dog Rescue Society.

Treacherous rescue mission

In a statement, the SPCA said numerous pets were left behind in shelters when their owners fled the country following the Taliban takeover.

A local charity, Kabul Small Animal Rescue, had saved more than 70 dogs from Kabul International Airport and rescued dozens of other animals abandoned by owners when they were forced to flee.

Man rescues 31 dogs from slaughterhouse in south-central Vietnam

A man from Khanh Hoa Province, south-central Vietnam spent VND24 million (US$1,027) rescuing 31 dogs from a slaughterhouse and is now looking for their owners.

The man, 46-year-old Do Minh Khoi from Nha Trang City, which is the provincial capital, shared the story to his Facebook page on Wednesday.

According to Khoi’s account, his two dogs were stolen while he was on a business trip in Hanoi, prompting him and his son to scour dozens of slaughterhouses between Nha Trang City and Dien Khanh District, also in Khanh Hoa Province, to find their beloved pets.

On Wednesday morning, Khoi arrived at a facility in Dien Khanh and saw dozens of dogs locked in cages, ready to be slaughtered. 

He wound up buying all of them from the abattoir in order to save them.

“Many of the dogs were exhausted and lying still, while some were sticking their paws out as if they were asking me to save them,” Khoi recalled.

The man said he paid a total of VND20 million ($856) to buy the dogs and another VND4 million ($171) to transport them to his home in Nha Trang.

Khoi later posted the story on Facebook in the hope of finding each dog’s owner.

As of Thursday, two people had been reunited with their pets thanks to Khoi.

“Seeing the dogs wagging their tails when they saw their owners made me really happy,” Khoi said.

Ha Thuy Tram, 28, from Khanh Hoa’s Cam Lam District, said she lost her dog several days earlier.

Tram’s family had raised the dog for two years before it was stolen. They searched several dog meat shops and slaughterhouses in the locality after the canine disappeared.

“I discovered that my dog had been rescued after seeing Khoi’s status on Facebook, so I decided to travel all the way to Nha Trang to get my pet,” Tram said.

“I wanted to give Khoi some money to thank him for saving my dog, but he refused it.”

Khoi plans to keep the rescued canines at his home for about seven days so that their owners can come and take them home, afterward he will take the remaining dogs to a local animal rescue shelter.

“People who wish to find their lost dogs can come to my house at 30D Dong Nai Street in Phuoc Hai Ward, Nha Trang City, or call 0909473361,” Khoi said.

As of Thursday, Khoi and his family have yet to find their own lost pets.

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