From the War-Torn Streets of Afghanistan, Dog Finds New Life at Local Rescue Group

As the inches of snow blanketed the Washington area Tuesday night, one lucky dog was finding her new temporary home thousands of miles from the ravaged streets of Afghanistan where she began. Serena, a young mixed breed dog has lived her life as an Afghan street dog, surviving mainly thanks to the generosity of Americans working in Kabul. A contract worker stationed at the US Embassy, Mary Lee Ball, has been looking after the street dogs near the embassy since her arrival and Serena caught her eye right away. While most of the dogs shy away from human contact, Serena was a social butterfly from the start, happy to receive not only much-needed food from the humans but love and attention as well. Ball thought Serena would be a perfect candidate for an adoptive home in the United States, so she reached out to Northern Virginia-based Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation (LDCRF) to see if Serena could have a shot in the States.

Barbara Hutcherson, Adoptions Coordinator for LDCRF, is accustomed to receiving dozens of pleas each day from owners and shelters looking to rehome a dog or cat. But when Ball contacted Hutcherson last week, she knew this dog must be a special case. “Serena was clearly something special to be the one street dog out of hundreds that we were being asked to save, but what really touched me was Mary’s dedication and her willingness to go to great lengths to save Serena. This time, I was really trying to help a human. As a fellow animal-lover, I could really empathize with the heartache of seeing animals in such dire circumstances day after day. I’m thrilled we were able to give her and the others at the embassy this small victory.”
 

To prepare Serena for her international travels, Ball reached out to the Afghan Stray Animal League (ASAL) to assist her in the transport. While most of ASAL’s focus is on adoptions within Kabul and the surrounding areas, they also assist Americans in Afghanistan who wish to bring an Afghani animal back to the States. ASAL’s generously brought Serena in for vaccinations, health checks, and spay surgery, and this sweet dog was cleared for her trip to America.

Ball began her travels with Serena on Monday from Kabul to Frankfurt, Germany, but missed her connection to DC due to a late arrival. As Tuesday’s weather brought another batch of snow, international flights into DC were cancelled and Ball had to fly into JFK airport in New York instead. With no choice but to rent a car and drive through the treacherous storm conditions, Serena and Ball found themselves meeting Hutcherson around 9 PM Tuesday night at Arlington’s Lost Dog Café under a heavy wet snow. But even after that unbelievably tiring journey, Serena greeted Hutcherson with a wagging tail and excitement, eagerly inhaling an array of deli meat, while Ball enjoyed her favorite pizza before finally heading home to reunite with her own rescue dogs.
 

“Serena is everything we hoped for and more,” states Hutcherson. “She has an amazing temperament and is one of the happiest dogs I have ever met. We are going to be looking for an extra-special family to adopt her; she deserves a lifetime of unbridled love.”