Were US Military Service Dogs left in Afghanistan? These so called Service Dogs were left after the Afghanistan pullout which ended on Aug 31, 2021. Pictures were taken of dogs in crates that were in a Hangar located at Kabul Airport. The short answer is No and this is why. 

The US Military did not leave their service dogs, however there were dogs that were left behind. These dogs were a mixture of strays and dogs owned by contract companies that were responsible for their safety and care. “A spokeswoman for American Humane, told us in a phone interview that the “statement was based on reports we were getting from military personnel over the weekend,” in addition to reports from contractors who owned some of the dogs and were forced to leave them at the airport.” (FactCheck.org)  The dogs were left in cruel conditions, trapped in cages with empty water bottles strewn around. All of the crates were locked inside a hangar with a destroyed Black Hawk Helicopter. The Department of Defense denies all allegations regarding this topic. “To correct erroneous reports, the U.S. Military did not leave any dogs in cages at Hamid Karzai International Airport, including the reported military working dogs”. Department of Defense press secretary John Kirby tweeted Tuesday.

An animal advocacy group tried to help these animals. The group is called SPCAI (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals International). However, SPCAI ran into some roadblocks. “SPCAI said it was unable to get the animals onto U.S. military planes or private charter planes, citing Centers for Disease Control import policies and other roadblocks that prevented the animals from being brought into the U.S.” (SPCAI) However there is no known condition that these poor service animals are in.

These import policies and other roadblocks are a major problem when trying to bring these dogs home. They had no other choice but to leave them in Afghanistan. KSAR (Kabul Small Animal Rescue), which is an affiliate of SPCAI, stated to USATODAY, that the KSAR’s founder, had rescued at least 130 animals and had been working with U.S. forces to evacuate them from the country. That number included “46 working dogs and several personal pets belonging to fleeing Americans.” 

In the end, KSAR and other like minded organizations are trying to get these American Contract dogs out of  Kabul. The Defense Department still denies that any military service dogs were left behind in the country. I hope that these animals can be rescued.