Help Bring Poppy the Afghan Dog Home

"You're adopting a dog from Afghanistan?!" Yes, we are! And let us tell you the story of how this came to happen..

It all started several years ago with a dog named Fred, and his human, Craig. We discovered their incredible and inspiring story of how Craig, a Marine, had been deployed to Afghanistan and met a friendly, happy-go-lucky dog named Fred while out on his mission. Fred the Afghan dog brought joy and stubborn positivity to the group despite them being a target of the Taliban in a warzone. Thus began the journey of Craig saving Fred from the warzone in Afghanistan, and Fred saving Craig upon his return to the America, helping him reintegrate into life here after war.

Then we discovered Kabul Small Animal Rescue (KSAR), a non-profit organization that rescues animals in Afghanistan and provides 24/7 veterinary care. They care for stray animals, K9 working dogs, and work with organizations to get animals adopted and transported to their homes, many of which include US soldiers. Right before our wedding in 2021, we were invested in KSAR's mission to urgently evacuate their animals and staff as the NATO withdrawal neared completion. We were even more anxious about this mission than we were about getting ready for our own wedding! Luckily, despite all the recent changes in Afghanistan after the NATO withdrawal, KSAR has been able to continue their life-saving operations under the new government.

Fast forward to earlier this year, Rachel was finally able to read the book Craig and Fred, detailing the incredible journey that Craig and Fred went through, and felt more inspired than ever to spread the stubborn positivity that became Fred the Afghan dog's motto. She hadn't seen any updates from KSAR for awhile, so after finishing the book she went on the KSAR page and discovered they urgently needed adopters for an airlift of animals that was set to happen in June, which would be desperately needed in order to open up space at the rescue so they could rescue more animals and continue their life-saving mission.

The timing of all of this was very interesting (perhaps God-orchestrated?): Rachel just read the book about Craig and Fred the Afghan dog a few months ago (it had been out for awhile); KSAR would be airlifting dogs to their adoptive homes in June; and we were just getting ready to move into our new house... and thus the seed was planted for us adopting a dog from Afghanistan.

We reached out to KSAR to see if there were any young dogs that would be a good fit for us. Several really sweet and incredible dogs were available for adoption, making the decision very hard! But we kept going back to one sweet girl named Poppy, who was found as a puppy with her littermates in a dangerous area of Afghanistan after their mother was suspected to have passed away. KSAR rescued and raised these well-fed, well-loved, but flea-infested newly orphaned puppies, and gave us the opportunity to provide a forever home to one of them. We prayed for guidance on making our decision, and shortly after, we had confirmation: Rachel had a dream she was looking at a painting of a white poppy flower, then a day later our family friend who is a dog trainer recommended we adopt Poppy. Poppy even has the same white and tan coloring as Fred the Afghan. It was meant to be!

So now begins our journey of bringing Poppy home and starting our life with this sweet girl! KSAR does not charge adoption fees, but just asked us to help fundraise for the urgent airlift. In adopting Poppy, it will open up space for another dog like her to be saved. It costs $3500 to bring a dog to America, so we have made this our goal. If you are able, we are incredibly grateful for your donations and prayers in making this mission possible! We can't wait to bring Poppy home just in time for her 1st birthday in June, and be able to share more stubborn positivity with our corner of the world! #BringPoppyHome #PoppyTheAfghan #KSARairlift #MissionPawsible #StubbornPawsitivity #PoppysFureverHome

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A message from Kabul Small Animal Rescue: We are raising funds to fly 300 of our rescued cats and dogs to forever homes and rescue placement in the US this summer on a chartered cargo plane. Flying our rescues to their homes is a gift of thriving lives, each with a family of their own, and every animal homed is another animal saved here in Afghanistan. Our shelter in Kabul is overflowing, and the needs we are faced with every day overwhelming. Lowering our population drastically is the only way we can survive as a clinic, shelter, and sanctuary for the animals that need it most. KSAR will be managing this endeavor from shelter to home with the help of trusted rescue partners and dedicated volunteers along the way. These funds will cover the charter plane fees for flying from Kabul to the United States, all the stopovers along the way, customs, export, and import fees and USDA and CDC processing, custom-made travel crates, pre-flight medical testing, and in-flight veterinary personnel.

Thank you!!!