(NewsNation) — While supporting the ceasefire between Gaza and Israel, American soldiers came across 10 abandoned dogs they knew they could not leave behind.
With the help of two rescue operations, Let Animals Live, located in Israel, and the SCPA International, these canines were able to get medical care and a flight to America.
Now reunited with the soldiers who saved them, these puppies can begin their new lives in their forever homes, safe and sound.
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Marine Corps Special Operations Sniper Brandon Zielinski and his dog, Emmy, partnered with Lori Kalef, director of programs for SPCA International, to make this happen.
“Being and operating inside Gaza is just inherently chaotic, and that’s both for the local population and all the animals there,” Zielinski told NewsNation. “Having been operating inside that for about a year, we established a relationship with these dogs and built a companionship, and we were just with them all the time.”
Most were in poor health, infested with ticks and worms and malnourished.
“At the end of it, we just knew that we cannot leave these dogs here because they’re not going to make it,” he said.
Marine Corps Special Operations Sniper Brandon Zielinski helped rescue dogs from Gaza.
Zielinski said he reached out to many local places in Israel, but they were dead ends.
“It’s a very long process, but in the immediacy, we know that we have to rescue these dogs or cats because we don’t have a lot of time,” Kalef said.
Within minutes of Zielinski contacting her, she had spoken with Let Animals Live in Israel.
“And within a couple of hours, we had a safe place for the dogs to land,” she said.
SPC International works in any part of the world with a U.S. military installation and can be contacted at spscai.org.
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