U.K. soldier saves puppy being used as soccer ball by Afghani kids

It’s my contention that the very minimum requirement to becoming a member of the human race is the ability to refrain from kicking puppies. It’s right there at the top of the application. Some cultures see that differently, I suppose. So here’s the story of a British Army medic who, while on foot patrol in Helmand Province in Afghanistan, saw several children using a puppy as a soccer ball. Corporal Sarah Marriott rescued the puppy, nursed it back to health, and arranged to have it flown back to the UK, where as you can see by the photo, it’s doing quite well. From the London Daily Mail:

And after six months on a restorative diet of porridge, Spam and affection, he has been brought to the UK to live with her family.

Corporal Marriott said: “I was on routine patrol near our forward base when we came across some children throwing and kicking a puppy. As I got closer I could hear it whimpering.

“I don’t think anyone could have just stood there and watched.”

The 30-year-old Army medic, who was on foot patrol with the 2nd Yorkshire Regiment in Helmand Province, was told that the youngsters had been asked to drown the little dog because his owners did not want him — so she carried him back to her base.

Cpl Marriott later found out that their parents’ dog had a litter of unwanted pups.

“In Afghanistan dogs are used as working dogs, not pets, either as guard dogs or for fighting,” she said. “If there are too many in the litter the ones that aren’t needed are killed.”

She spoke to her squad commander and they decided to take the little dog back to the safe haven of their base.

The soldiers named the puppy Reorg (army abbreviation for reorganisation), and though it was unable to walk for the first few days, it gradually recovered on a diet of porridge and spam. Which makes you wonder what Oliver Twist was bitching about.

‘Reorg became a very happy and bubbly character,’ said Cpl Marriott. ‘Whenever I got up he would follow me around.’

With her unit about to return to the UK, Marriot knew she couldn’t leave the dog behind, where it would have surely been killed. So she got the help of Nowzad Dogs, a rescue organization that specializes in mistreated dogs, which spent more than $4,000 flying Reorg to Heathrow. He’s now in quarantine, but has already been reunited with Marriott.

“He definitely knew who I was,” Marriott said. “He seemed very happy to see me.”

Cpl Marriott is now leading a fundraising drive to cover the cost of Reorg’s rescue. You can make a donation here. Or, just send along your good karma. I’m going to send a Michael Vick chew toy.
The next scourge to be examined here on Out of Bounds: Cat juggling.
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Puppy saved from death by thugs using it as a football in Afghanistan is flown to UK for a new life [London Daily Mail]
Dog Saved From Short Life As A Football [Unprofessional Foul]