SPCA International says the rescued dogs in Kabul were released 'into the airport' and are now running loose

There’s a story going viral right now about a number of dogs, including 51 service dogs, that were allegedly left behind in Kabul, Afghanistan with a number of charities, including the 501c3 called Veteran Sheepdogs of America, raising money to rescue the animals:

UPDATE: We are securing PPR papers for extract from Afghanistan for the people that can't get on Kabul Airfield & remaining funding. The 51 working dogs are being fed & watered. Thank you for all your generosity through this! Please keep praying!https://t.co/3vaYMb4bWN pic.twitter.com/tvMIHT184K

— Veteran Sheepdogs of America (@VetSheepdogsUS) August 30, 2021

ABC 7 in Denver reported the service dogs were left behind at a shelter in Kabul by a security contractor:

Right now, the shelter is home to some 230 animals from four different rescues and a security contractor company that utilized bomb-sniffing dogs.

The shelter — Kabul Small Animal Rescue — was started by an American woman named Charlotte Maxwell-Jones:

An American woman in Kabul is scrambling to evacuate her Afghan staff and dozens of the rescue animals they care for. With the countdown to a full U.S. troop withdrawal just days away, she’s been ordered by the Taliban to leave.

For the last three years, Charlotte Maxwell-Jones, an archeologist turned animal activist, has worked in Afghanistan to care for the war-torn nation’s most vulnerable creatures.

And according to SPCA International, the dogs and their caretakers were not allowed to board a flight and they were released into the airport. As in, they’re just running around loose:

Here is what we know: In the end, the dogs and their caretakers were explicitly NOT allowed to board military aircraft, and numerous private charter aircraft were not granted access to the airport either. Charlotte was informed that most of the KSAR dogs had to be released into the airport on August 30 as the airport was evacuated – turning once rescued shelter dogs into homeless strays. They were not given access to the flight we had secured to transport them out of the country. They are within the airport in an area used for housing employees at the far end of the flight line.

SPCA International is attempting to determine how many dogs, if any, were rescued:

We haven’t been able to confirm the number of dogs released, nor can we confirm whether the U.S. Military evacuated the 46 working dogs that had been under KSAR’s care when they left. We are urgently pressing for more details, and while this is more difficult now that the U.S. military has completely evacuated Kabul, we refuse to give up.

And the plan now is to, somehow, re-rescue the animals once it is safe:

Moving forward, KSAR’s primary objective is to return to the airport– when it is safe and with the hope of Taliban cooperation–to try and retrieve or re-rescue the animals who were released at the airport. The situation at the airport remains very unsafe, but KSAR is hopeful their staff will be allowed to return to the airport at some point to try to save their dogs. During her departure from the airport on August 30, Charlotte requested the U.S. Military open the bags of dog food she was able to bring into the airport and scatter their contents in the area where the dogs had been released.

Now, as for the money raised. . .

Greta Van Susteren reported this morning that she was in touch with Maxwell-Jones and that she said @VetSheepdogsUS “is a scam”:

I called Charlotte in Kabul this morning – about 3 hours ago – and she told me this is a scam. https://t.co/CbNfyJzKBi

— Greta Van Susteren (@greta) August 31, 2021

They have denied that:

There's false information that we are a "scam" that is the FARTHEST from the truth! We have 51 working dogs with our people that we were given the responsibility to get them out of Kabul. This IS happening! Please retweet & those spreading false info please stop!

— Veteran Sheepdogs of America (@VetSheepdogsUS) August 31, 2021

The account also tweeted last night that a group connected to Glenn Beck had “decommitted” $600,000 in funding for the rescue:

https://twitter.com/VetSheepdogsUS/status/1432601440044740610

But others who donated directly to Kabul Small Animal Rescue want to know what their money is being used for as well:

🐾❓1.Before any hooman freaks out, these are just ?s, not pawccusations. I hope that I’m just horribly wrong: A. Has anyone SEEN Charlotte @KSAnimalRescue in the airport in the last days with their own eyes or seen video/photo of her in #HKIA with the pets? #OperationExplanation pic.twitter.com/HqGpay6Pwr

— The Oval Pawffice® 🇺🇸 DOTUS Fans (@TheOvalPawffice) August 30, 2021

🐾❓2. Are the 51 WORKING dogs saved the (expensive to train) bomb sniffing dogs belonging to a private contractor that Charlotte @KSAnimalRescue had at their rescue in Kabul as per this video in article min 1:33? While the regular pets were abandoned? https://t.co/fYp8EmjDdY

— The Oval Pawffice® 🇺🇸 DOTUS Fans (@TheOvalPawffice) August 30, 2021

🐾❓3. Since no plane was paid for/chartered/landed and the 51 working pups belonged to a private contractor who can surely afforded evacuating them or already MAYBE paid KSAR for that, where and how will the almost 1 Million dollars raised by @KSAnimalRescue be used? pic.twitter.com/GEeTzFEYrE

— The Oval Pawffice® 🇺🇸 DOTUS Fans (@TheOvalPawffice) August 30, 2021

🐾❓4.Again, I hope from the bottom of my heart that I am horribly wrong. I truly do. But these are ?s that thousands of people are asking. Ppl who donated, spent the last week in stress, refreshing @KSAnimalRescue for news every min. Answers are needed.💔 #OperationExplanation

— The Oval Pawffice® 🇺🇸 DOTUS Fans (@TheOvalPawffice) August 30, 2021

The last tweet from Kabul Small Animal Rescue asked for people to “PLEASE LET THE PROCESS WORK”:

We know not having a lot of information is scary, and we know that fear leads to speculation #OperationHercules but right now PLEASE LET THE PROCESS WORK.
Calm and clear is CRITICAL@puppyrescuemis1 @SPCAINT

— Kabul Small Animal Rescue (@KSAnimalRescue) August 30, 2021

We’ll keep you posted as soon as we learn more.

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