Felix approached Verum with a worried expression. He said, “Verum, when armies fight prolonged wars, they are helped by service animals. They detect explosives, patrol areas, and participate in search and rescue operations. I remember you told us about the hero African giant-pouched rat called Magawa. He detected so many explosives buried in the soil in Cambodia. And that’s how he saved many lives.”
“Yes, you’re right,” said Verum, “But what about them?”
“Well, the United States (US) troops and its allies must have used the help of such service animals during the 20-year war in Afghanistan,” said Felix, “Now that the Taliban has taken over the country, the US troops have also left. Has anyone rescued the animals?”
“It’s just like you, Felix, to think about our animal friends,” said Verum with a proud expression, “Let me check with my crystal ball.”
Verum sat in front of her trusty crystal ball and looked for news about animals from Afghanistan. Within minutes, she found it. She said, “There are three news stories: two good, one not so good. Which one would you like to hear first?”
“Hmm,” pondered Felix, “The not-so-good news I think.”
“Okay,” replied Verum, “When the final US military flight took off on 30th August, 200 Americans and thousands of Afghans were left behind. And so were the service dogs that worked for the US military in Afghanistan.”
Felix let out a sad sigh, “Those poor, poor animals!”
“Are we ready for the better news?” said Verum, continuing, “Firstly, the Indian Air Force evacuated service dogs called Maya, Ruby, and Bobby. They worked for the Indian Embassy in Kabul, the capital city.”
“Thank the MysticLord,” said Felix.
“And then, there’s the story about Paul “Pen” Farthing,” said Verum, “Farthing is an ex-Royal Marine from the United Kingdom (UK). After serving in Afghanistan in the mid-2000s, he founded a charity animal shelter in Kabul called Nowzad for former service animals. When the Taliban reached Kabul, Farthing realized he needed to evacuate the animals from the shelter, along with its staff and their families. After a lot of campaigning, he managed to get 200 animals out of Afghanistan.”
“And what about the staff?”
“Unfortunately, they were left behind,” said Verum with a sad face.