Worldwide Dogs

It’s no big secret that I love dogs. Turkey, of course, but also random dogs. Especially homeless dogs (or more accurately, “Dogs Seeking Homes.” When I was in b-school I had a line on my resume under “interests” about “walking homeless dogs” and they made me change it to “walking shelter dogs” because the Career Center thought the former was “misleading.” Still puzzled about that one, but ok. I changed it.)

My dog, is of course, legendary for her Turkey-like howls. I’d never considered videotaping her, but after the Ravens’ meltdown on Sunday, she couldn’t hold it in anymore.

Anyway. I adopted my doggy from a no-kill rescue in Raleigh – she’d been rescued from rural backwoods shelter in Rocky Mount where she would’ve met death – back in December 2008. She was a mess. Heartworm positive, too skinny, and afraid of anything that made a sound. The amazing veterinary students at NC State Veterinary School treated her for heartworm, and thankfully she made a full recovery. I took care of fattening her up and tried to socialize her so she’d become less frightened of things she found scary (e.g., aluminum foil, men in hoodies, other dogs, and vacuums. Doing well on the first three, not so much on the last).

Last summer, I began reading the tales of the Turkey-Opposite, Solha, which means “peace” in Dari. Solha is a bad-ass dog who lives in Afghanistan. I read and adore Solha’s owner (Jake’s) wife’s blog, Rurally Screwed; it is funny and well-written and I heartily recommend. (Ok, technically maybe Jake is Solha’s “caretaker” right now, since she’s an Afghani dog, but he has known, loved, and cared for her since last July, and “caretaker” seems a little much yuppie/hippie for me.)

Solha has about 47 lives: since July she has been bitten by a poisonous snake, escaped into the Afghan wild with feral dogs about 3 times (and always returned), and several other incidents I no longer recall. But she’s sweet, looks a lot like Miss Turkey, and from my reading of it, has brought tremendous comfort and strength to a man who, to serve this country, sacrificed, upheld his commitment, and left his wife and newborn baby for 18 months. (Did you know an “Army year” is 18 months? I did not. It is.) In the near term of his departure, both of their family dogs died. This pissed me off, and added insult to injury and depth to their heartache.

Why am I writing about some lady’s dog who I don’t even know? (either the lady, or the dog). I’ll tell you why: ‘Cause 1) I love dogs. Duh. I thought we’d already established that. Do you read? 2) Both of Jake and Jessie’s family dogs died in a very short span of time, both quite tragically (I cannot bring myself to search for those posts. Heartbreaking). 3) Through an organization called Nowzad, they are working to bring Solha back to Virginia to be their dog when Jake returns from deployment (can I get a “HELL YEAH??!”).

This is not as easy as it might seem. For one, as we all know, Afghanistan has been ravaged by multiple wars, and infrastructure is minimal at best. Yet it is also not as uncommon as you might think. And to points above, the love of a dog is very special, and gets you through some terrible times, be it loneliness (check) or depression (check) or the separation from a loved one during war (I’m venturing a guess on this one, but I’m gonna say “check”).

Yeah, kids, I’m a fundraiser. I became a fundraiser for “real” after I started with Team in Training and all this Ironman ridiculousness and had the realization that when you’re passionate about something, fundraising is not work at all. Outside of work, you’ve all helped me raise almost $50,000 for causes I care deeply about. (Inside of work I think I’m over about $7.5 million, but that shit’s just bragging.)

So, please take a minute to click over to Jessie’s blog, read about Solha and her adventures (as well as Adventures in Rural Virginia Living, of which there are many), and consider donating anything to help Bring Solha Home!

When she arrives in VA this summer, I hope Miss Turkey and Solha might have a playdate (since I quit the “Walgreens” gig I know the Bo playdate ain’t ever gonna happen).

Isn't Solha amazing? Photo respectfully borrowed/stolen from Jessie's blog, Rurally Screwed, but credited (and linked to) right now. Please go visit!