The following e-mail was sent to me by a friend who helps Terri Crisp, former founder of Noah's Wish, who is now working with the international SPCA I wish I could send the attachment because it has pictures of "Tom" the cat that is going to hopefully be lucky enough to come to the states, and "Francine" the beagle who now is unfortunately pregnant but will still be able to come if they get the funds. It costs them literally thousands for one animal to be brought over from Iraq. The soldiers are so grateful and of course it changes the course of the animals lives forever. The first e-mail below is from Terri and the 2nd one is a request from one of the soldiers, asking them to help him save Tom and bring him to the states. If someone can tell me how to send an attachment here, I can show the pictures of these cuties and if not, you are welcome to e-mail me and I'll e-mail you the pictures..... Good Morning! I received this story yesterday and it made me laugh, cry, and even that much more determined to get these 25 animals out of Iraq and to the states. There is no other option but to succeed! So, I need your help. Anything that you can do WILL make a difference. Knowing that this need exists, we cannot allow these incredible animals to be tossed back out on the deadly streets of Iraq where they will more then likely either be tortured by children or killed, and eaten by feral dogs. If this were to happen, the men and women, our troops, who have gone through so much during their tour in Iraq, will suffer a loss more devastating then most of them will be able to handle. We need to get these animals to their new home and have their soldier or marine arrive back here safe and sound, to be greeted by the wonderful face of that animal that kept them sane through this insane war. Please reach out to anyone you can think of who will recognize how important this is. The ripple effect will bring in the support that we need, I have no doubt. We just need to start reaching out and not stop until we have reached our goal. Thank you for being there to reach out to. It is of great comfort knowing you will understand and do what you can! Humanely,
Terri Crisp, Program Development Manager Operation Baghdad Pups
SPCA International P.O. Box 1230 Washington, D.C. 20013 Email: Terri.Crisp@SPCA.com ~ Website: www.SPCA.com John, Pass this on to the people that help Tom get to the states. I have attached some pictures, as well.
To Whom It May Concern: I am writing this with the intent of seeing an important member of my MiTT make it to the United States. Back in November 2007, a stray cat began hanging around our compound. Some LN had tied a piece of 550 cord around his neck, and it was slowly strangling him. We wanted to get it off of him, but he would never let us get close enough to help. A team member had an idea, and he donned some concertina gloves. We lured the cat into a vehicle with some tuna, and when he began eating (with much hacking and gasping), SFC J grabbed him. The fight was on! I had a pair of scissors ready, and as the cat squirmed back and forth, connecting with a few well aimed claws, I finally severed the cord tied around his neck. We let go of him, and he scampered off. We felt good about saving him, since I don't think he was going to last too long with the cord tied tightly around his neck, and we didn't expect to see him again. The next day, there he was, outside the door, just looking at us with a "how about some more tuna?" look on his face. The old Chinese adage about when you save someone's life, you are responsible for them for the rest of their's came to mind. Regardless, over time, Tom became a resident outside our building. We have an 11 man team, and have lost 4 members since our arrival in Iraq. I was in the vehicle during the IED strike that killed 2 of our guys. I was wounded physically, but healed up fine. Mentally, however, I was a bit distraught. For a few weeks, I was not sleeping regularly, and I would find myself going outside late at night just to keep from waking my roommate. There were many nights that I sat outside our building wondering when I would start feeling better inside, and each time I went out there, Tom would hop up on my lap, look at me with that same "hey buddy, wish I could help, but what I really need is some tuna" look on his face. That cat made me smile, and just having him there hanging with me helped me get out of the funk that had pervaded my existence following the IED strike. Now, we are getting close to redeployment, and we have decided that we want Tom to come back to the States with us. I know that he has done his part for me, and the other guys all have stories that mirror my own. So, whomever has the power, or the authority to make this happen, please do so with all speed. We don't want to leave a team member behind. Respectfully, Captain Todd Bradford
MiTT 2-18-5 |