WASHINGTON — Hundreds of rescue animals from Afghanistan are making their way to the DMV next week to start the journey to find their fur-ever homes.
Kabul Small Animal Rescue raised over their goal of $815,000 to be able to fly 300 of their rescued cats and dogs to the United States, with them landing at Dulles International Airport. The shelter made the decision to fly the animals out of the country due to an overflow in animals, causing overwhelming demands that they cannot keep up with.
"Lowering our population drastically is the only way we can survive as a clinic, shelter, and sanctuary for the animals that need it most," the rescue stated.
The funds they raised helped to cover the charter plane fees, all the stopovers along the way, customs, export, import fees, USDA and CDC processing, custom made travel crates, pre-flight medical testing, and in-flight veterinary personnel. Within the next few days, the rescues will be loaded on a B767 freighter plane and flying to Europe first for a brief refueling stop, as well as an opportunity to feed, clean, and give water to the animals. They will then head towards the nation's capital, and land at Dulles early on Monday, June 3.
Once they land, the animals will be given to Pender Pet Retreat, just a few miles from the airport. There the animals will be examined by USDA and CDC veterinarians so that they can be cleared and released. Afterwards, domestic transport begins.
"Flying our rescues to their homes is a gift of thriving lives, each with a family of their own, and every animal homed is another animal saved here in Afghanistan," the rescue stated on their donation page.
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