Bend’s Street Dog Hero travels thousands of miles to Kabul, Afghanistan to rescue seven dogs

(Update: Adding video, comments from Street Dog Hero staff)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Seven dogs from Afghanistan are now in Central Oregon, in need of forever homes. Several staff members from Bend nonprofit Street Dog Hero traveled nearly 7,000 miles to rescue the dogs from Kabul, Afghanistan.

"They do have shelters, like we have here," SDH Medical and Intake Manager Jaymie Friesner said Wednesday. "They just don't have high adoption rates."

The seven dogs brought to Bend are among the 300 animals flown out of Afghanistan by Kabul Small Animal Rescue. They're from a shelter that's being shut down.

KSAR's founder and director, Charlotte Maxwell-Jones, had remained in Afghanistan after U.S. troops were withdrawn to keep her shelter open, taking care of hundreds of animals over the last two years.

Street Dog Hero Executive Director Kristen Elrod said, "Any time we get a request, we'll really bump it to the top and make it happen, even if we're already at capacity, because it's just such an important rescue to us."

Kabul Small Animal Rescue reached out to 40 rescue organizations in the U.S. and U.K.

Friesner said, "We did have one that came - he has a broken foot. We have another one that came, he's suffering some pretty bad joint issues, so he'll always walk kind of funny. The rest of them came pretty scared. But overall, I'm surprised by how quickly they're coming out of their shells."

Street Dog Hero currently has 30 fosters to care for animals and is looking for 48 more for dogs.

Elrod said, "Some of them are pretty ready to go. Marcelo is a great example, but some of the other ones are a little more fearful. I would anticipate they're going to need maybe up to a month in foster (care)."

In addition to the seven dogs from Afghanistan, the rescue organization says it will be getting 40 more dogs from Oklahoma on Saturday.

All seven dogs from Afghanistan, plus many more rescue dogs, are currently available on this page on the Street Dog Hero website.

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