British Ex-Marine Strives To Rescue Nearly 200 Cats And Dogs From Kabul Territory In His Own Plane

Pen Farthing, a former Marine and former member of the UK Royal Navy, established the nonprofit organization Nowzad in 2007 and has since devoted his life to helping thousands of animals.

Even after receiving permission from UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, the guy has been working hard to get his crew and rescue animals out of Afghanistan. However, things haven’t been all that simple for them.

Following the fall of the Afghan government, the man started a campaign known as “Operation Ark” to try to safely evacuate his personnel as well as 200 cats and dogs from the nation.

Pen said to iNews

“I must remove them from this area. They won’t be abandoned by me. Everyone is utterly scared of what the future holds, including myself.”

The guy was in a frantic race against time to save himself, his 25 Afghan employees, and more than 200 animals. He was afraid that if they could not be evacuated, his staff members’ teenage children would be taken hostage by extremists.

In order to pay for a cargo jet and go to the UK, Pen worked hard to raise close to $200,000. However, he was required to follow a number of legal processes in order to admit Afghan workers.

Pen affirms that everything is very bad and expresses his displeasure with his country’s administration since he believes all of the battles he has waged in the past have been in vain.

Pen recalls that when she first arrived in the city of Nowzad in 2006, she immediately encountered a dog who became her buddy and whom she called Nowzad; as a result of this moving tale, the charity was established.

More than 1,700 animals have been moved by the shelter so far, many of them joining troops they met during combat. Over this period, the group has also been able to train more than 500 veterinary students in Kabul.