Fredericton pair rescue Afghanistan dogs to help Canadian soldiers

Sandra Buckingham andOnnede Boer, from outside Fredericton, are working to match rescued Afghanistan dogs with military members and veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.

The twohave their own dogsand they've adopted several local dogs, but now they've gradually taken in four dogs from the charityNowzad the only official animal shelter in Afghanistan.

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They would be saving a dog as well as saving themselves they're rescuing a war survivor, just like them.Sandra Buckingham

Murphy, the first dogBuckingham and de Boer brought to Canada had been rescued by soldiers who dropped him and another dog off atthe shelter.

The organization is run by a veterinary clinic staffed by a team of Afghan nationals who have taken care of dogs and cats living on the streets. According to its website, Nowzad has reunited more than850 soldiers with the dogs and cats that soldiers rescued and bonded with on the front lines.

After the dog's litter mate found a home, Murphy was in the shelter for months beforede Boer decided they had to step in, apply and give the dog a loving home on the other side of the world.

'They're very loyal dogs'

"He's very playful, very high energy and they're on alert all the time," Buckingham toldShift New Brunswick.

Their other dogs would be nappingand Murphy wouldconstantly scanthe windows and wouldbark to alert them.

"That's the first thing that caught us by surprise in the middle of the night," she said.

Over the years Murphy has calmed down, though each new dog that comes in from Afghanistan goes through the same routine he once had always on alert, keeping watch for their new home.

"They're very loyal dogs, but they're scent hounds," Buckingham said."They'll go off once they smell something they want, but they're loving, and they're very easy to befriend."

Because the dogs are so loving and loyal, the pairstarted the Pets for Vets program, hoping to help train and matchdogs from the shelter with military members or veterans with PTSD.

They're planning on expanding their property to give a place for the dogs to be trained on site.

'They're our family now'

"We want to give that love to a solider, that special bond," she said. "They would be saving a dog as well as saving themselves they're rescuing a war survivor, just like them."

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They've taken in so many local dogs and Afghan dogs that now, Buckingham laughed, that they're "tripping over them."

But it's welcome, because the dogs have found a special place in their hearts.

"They're our family now," she said.