American Humane, an American nonprofit charity, is outraged that the Pentagon has left U.S. military service dogs at the Kabul airport.
“Shocked by the news that the U.S. government is leaving Kabul and leaving brave service dogs who worked for the U.S. Army there to be tortured and killed by our enemies,” said Robin Ganzert, head of the organization.
The dogs in question were “contracted” and enlisted dogs were removed from Afghanistan the day after the Taliban seized Kabul.
Ganzert called on the government to urgently equate “contract dogs” with service dogs. He also noted that the organization is willing not only to help bring “these K-9 soldiers” to U.S. soil but also to provide them with lifelong medical care.
How the dog advocates plan to get the dogs out of the country is unclear, as the last U.S. plane left Kabul International Airport today, and the U.S. has suspended its diplomatic presence in Afghanistan.
According to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, there are 100 to 200 Americans left in the country who want to leave. U.S. diplomats will now conduct their work in Afghanistan from Doha, the capital of Qatar. Blinken said he expects the Kabul airport to reopen soon. “This will allow some daily charter flights and pick up everyone who wants to leave Afghanistan,” he said.
