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

Links to the Chipin and Just Giving pages are below:

Punkie & Frankie

http://nowzaddonations.chipin.com/punkie-and-frankie

Barney

http://nowzaddonations.chipin.com/barney

Bear & Jack

http://nowzaddonations.chipin.com/bear-and-jack

Poppy

http://www.justgiving.com/Nowzad-DogsPoppy

Robo & Pups

http://nowzaddonations.chipin.com/robo-and-pups

IL76

http://nowzaddogs.chipin.com/il76-cat

Bravo & Echo – Delta’s Pups

http://nowzaddonations.chipin.com/bravo-and-echo

Buddy & Pudgy

http://nowzaddonations.chipin.com/buddy-and-pudgy

Competition and other fundraising links

Nowzad Food Fund

http://nowzaddonations.chipin.com/food-fund

Pens Feeding the Rat Challenge

http://www.justgiving.com/PenF-mountainmadness

Nowzads 2011 Challenge

http://nowzaddogs.chipin.com/nowzads-2011-challenge

We would like to make everybody aware that this ChipIn or Just Giving 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

The Old Bakery,

12 High Street,

Kenilworth CV8 1LZ

Sunday 4th December 2011 starting at 12noon

The Old Bakery is hosting and providing ‘Christmas Canapés & Mulled Wine’

Tickets £10 each with ALL proceeds going to Nowzad.

Places are limited.

For further details & to book contact pat@nowzad.com

The event will be taking place on the 16th November where the dogs will make their journey from Kabul in Afghanistan, to meet their soldiers, or in the case of those still serving – family members, in what will be a historical Nowzad reunion.

For Pen Farthing this is the fundamental reason for Nowzad, “I am forever in the debt of American Airlines. Getting these dogs reunited with the soldiers is why I started this. I know what my dog ‘Nowzad’ meant to me – I could not leave him behind – he was my comfort during those dark cold nights in Afghanistan where normality did not exist. It is a testament to the character of the US soldiers concerned that they have shown compassion in such a brutal place as to rescue an innocent animal from the chaos. We can do no more than help them in return”.

One such soldier is Marine Ward Van Alstine, a serving US Marine. His mother explains, “My son is a tough guy marine. He can bench press over his body weight and run for miles. He did 2 tours of Afghanistan and just returned home. He is also a 23 year old kid who desperately misses his family and fights back tears when he gets news of fellow marine injuries or death. While on his second tour of duty, a soft heart contained in a skinny, dirty, starving dog touched his. He took her into his tent and made a home for her. In a war and a country where there are more questions than answers, her doggy devotion became something he could believe in and count on – he had a loving friend who was always willing to listen and just be there. That friend is Chloe, the dog that Nowzad is helping him bring home’.

Another Nowzad rescue that is being flown in is Beethoven, the gentle giant with a big heart.  While walking to work on only his second day in Afghanistan, SFC Jackson-Greer noticed a large dog following slowly behind, but was soon reassured by a colleague – ‘oh its ok, thats Beethoven, he always walks us to work’. Still nervous and continually looking back, SFC Jackson-Greer realised the dog had slowed down – seemingly understanding the soldier was nervous. Nowzad had already been to the camp to neuter Beethoven and give him his vaccinations but unfortunately a change in policy meant Beethoven could no longer stay there. SFC Jackson-Greer explains, “This is one of the most amazing dogs I have ever met. I would love to have him as part of my family back in South Carolina. I know I was not sent to Afghanistan to help dogs, but unless some divine intervention tells me otherwise – maybe I was!”

This special event will see brave soldiers like these reunited with the friend that got them though the toughest of times and Pen will be there to see it all happen, “I am extremely grateful that American Airlines are flying these companion animal rescues on behalf of the American soldiers to JFK. As a charity we completely rely on public donations and this level of support is fantastic.”

Nowzad would also love to thank Arthur Benjamin of American Dog Rescue and Cathy Kangas of Prai Beauty for making this event happen in the first place; ‘These two animal lovers are amazing in what they achieve for those without a voice in need of a guardian angel – we can’t thank them both enough for their time and dedication’

For more information on the event as it happens please follow Pen on twitter @penfarthing or the Nowzad facebook page.

To make a tax deductible donation to the Nowzad Dogs charity please visit www.americandogrescue.org and click on the Nowzad button. All UK residents please use our donate page on the nowzad.com website!

Thank you everybody!!!

For anyone who has kindly donated towards the rescue of these animals, the money will be directly used to assist with other Nowzad rescue’s who are waiting to go on to their forever home with their soldiers. The Nowzad team would like to say a huge thank you to American Airlines for their unbelievable support. 

But I want to clarify a few questions that have been raised. Nowzad Dogs is committed to assisting serving soldiers rescue a dog that they have adopted during their tour of duty in Afghanistan. To that end we have partnered with American Dog Rescue to jointly fund raise to support at least the next 500 rescues!! And to kick off that partnership we have some great news coming which I can’t tell you about right now – drat and darn it – you will just have to wait!! We are also pushing hard to fund our humane trap, neuter, vaccinate and release programme which is essential to stamping out rabies in Afghanistan.

Sadly, as most of you who follow our work will know, we have not been able to support rescues from within Iraq, currently the last one we rescued is curled up by feet – ‘MaxChat’ (more on him another time). Nowzad Dogs did not have the resources on the ground and we knew the highly successful Operation Baghdad Pups who we work with closely, had the current rescue demands from Iraq in hand allowing us to fully concentrate on building the first ever official animal shelter in Afghanistan. But we are hoping now with American Dog Rescue on-board that we can eventually fulfil our dream of supporting both Iraq and Afghanistan with a network of shelters whether coalition troops are in-country or not.

Here at Nowzad we are only too aware of the dogs in America and the United Kingdom that already needs homes, but we also now have dogs and cats at the Nowzad shelter that the original soldiers who first demonstrated the compassion required to look at that animal are no longer in a position to give it a home. The dog or cat has already been socialised and will need a western ‘forever’ home as they are far too friendly to adapt to life in an Afghan home at the moment. We are working on a rehoming policy to implement a limited programme for Afghan dogs with no home. It just takes time and resources – which for the Nowzad team are in limited supply. Watch this space for more details….

Please rest assured that money donated to Nowzad is used as effectively as possible to make a difference for the animals in Afghanistan that need it. Remember you can always ask us to clarify anything that you are concerned about. Just don’t expect a super-fast response as most of us are volunteers with real day jobs – BUT we will get back to you.

Nowzad Dogs is growing daily – 500 dogs is just the start………. As always your support means the world to myself and the team behind Nowzad. Thank you all for making a difference in Afghanistan for the dogs (and cats!) with no voice but ours!

Pen Farthing – Founder and chairman of Nowzad Dogs

If you are a Facebook user you can help us by simply visiting www.facebook.com/feelgoodpark and clicking on ‘vote for a charity’  on the left, then selecting Nowzad and submitting your vote!

Please help us by voting for Nowzad now, as every vote really does count!  £5000 will help Nowzad to continue to make a difference for the many strays of Afghanistan that have no hope and no body to care for them.

Voting starts on the 7^th November at 9:00am and ends on the 5^th December at 12:01am.

Please spread the word amongst all your family and friends who also have a Facebook account and ask them to vote for Nowzad too!

A guide to casting your vote is detailed below, it is recommended that supporters take a look through here first before voting.

• Visit http://www.facebook.com/feelgoodpark and ‘like’ the page (That’s £1 donated to animal welfare just by liking their page)
• Please Note: You may enter a security check; this is usually due to a Facebook account being unverified. You can verify your Facebook account by following the on screen instructions
• To the left of the page please click ‘Vote for a charity’. You may encounter a Facebook Logo, if this occurs Please click ‘Go to Facebook.com’ .
• Facebook will then ask to access the FB users basic Information, please click on allow. This will allow the Charity application to bypass security settings that are currently set up. Animal Friends Insurance will not hold any information or data about the user.
• You will then have the opportunity to vote for 1 of our 4 charities of the month, please select ‘Nowzad Dogs’ and click on the pink submit button, you will then see ‘Cracker the Dog’ who will thank you for voting, before you see the number of votes so far.

ADR was founded in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina and has helped thousands of animals find a new home. They are supporting Nowzad in raising funds towards the rescue and relocation of more than 500 abandoned dogs in Afghanistan.

Pen was introduced to ADR Founder Arthur E Benjamin at a Humane Society gala in New York. From this meeting they decided to join forces through Benjamin’s non-profit organization, American Dog Rescue. Their aim is to combine efforts to positively impact the lives of hundreds of neglected animals.

For some of the many stray dogs in the Middle East they now have a guardian for the first time in their lives, thanks to Pen and the work of Nowzad, and with the help of ADR this can continue to grow.

Dogs that serve our troops provide emotional support and deserve to earn their stripes in the form of new homes. They cannot be left behind to return to a homeless feral life.

To donate to help support the rescue and relocation efforts of Nowzad Dogs in conjunction with American Dog Rescue, please visit

http://www.americandogrescue.org/philanthropy/support-nowzad

American Dog Rescue is a tax exempt non profit organisation committed to finding a home for every adoptable dog in the United States. American Dog Rescue is committed to placing healthy dogs in permanent homes that are the right fit for the animal and its family. Donations can be made by visiting

www.americandogrescue.org/donate

After a very cold and wet winter last year the roof area of our isolation kennels needs to be replaced. It is starting to collapse and will provide little or no protection from the harsh Afghan winter that is almost upon us.

The entire roof needs repairing and we need to modify the dogs brick houses to ensure no cold winds can blow through them and that we can keep the dogs as warm and dry as possible.

Please help us to raise the funds for this project, time is running out for us to get this work done!

So come on ladies, spread the word for us and lets see if we can turn some old (washed) bras into hard cash for Nowzad.

If you have bras to send to us please mail them to us at:

Nowzad
PO Box 39
Plymouth
PL2 9AU

Check out some Nowzad rescues and some supporters four legged friends supporting this initiative below

For more details, to buy or try www.herdingkatz.com First person to send in the correct answer to Melissa will be the winner. Get Herding those Katz!!!