Rescuing the dogs of war

Louise Hastie, from Wolverhampton, helps run the Nowzad Dogs charity to re-home animals with soldiers.

It was set up by former Royal Marine Sergeant Pen Farthing in 2007.

While serving in Nowzad in Helmand province in 2006, the 44-year-old broke up an organised dog fight, befriending one of the animals. He then began helping other soldiers get their dogs back home.

A registered charity, Nowzad Dogs operates the only official animal shelter in Afghanistan, just outside Kabul, and Miss Hastie manages a clinic for them.

The 41-year-old, a former pupil of Alumwell Business and Enterprise College in Walsall, said they have re-homed some 650 dogs to soldiers from the US and UK to Australia, Canada and Africa, with more going to homes in Afghanistan.

But the charity also works to promote animal welfare and responsible pet ownership in Afghanistan.

Asked what would happen after the draw-down of UK combat troops, set to be completed by the end of this year, Miss Hastie said: "It's business as usual for us. It's about promoting animal welfare in Afghanistan, and responsible pet ownership."

Miss Hastie, who spent 10 years with the Staffordshire Regiment and served in Iraq as a reservist in 2004, started re-homing animals when she worked in Iraq.

After returning to the UK, she decided to go back as a contractor and while there, rescued a cat – and then went through a nightmare to get it back to the UK. "I had to perform miracles of biblical proportion to get this cat out of Iraq, and I didn't want anyone else to have to go through that," she said.

Simba the cat later died, but Miss Hastie found herself receiving emails from soldiers in Iraq asking for help to rehome dogs they had befriended while serving there.

After offering her help, soon Miss Hastie was spending hours every night helping people get their dogs home, so gave up her job to work full-time for Nowzad.

She now lives and works in Kabul, sharing her home at the charity's clinic with some 20 dogs, as well as around 20 cats.

A further 100 dogs live at the charity's shelter outside the city.

Alongside Miss Hastie, a team of Afghan staff includes two full-time vets and two part-time vets.

Nowzad relies on donations and advertises only through word-of-mouth.

And while many of the dogs are making their way to the UK, there is no sign of Miss Hastie leaving Afghanistan. "I don't foresee myself ever leaving. I'm here for keeps," she said.