In April 2011 Nowzad received a plea from the father of soldier Pte Conrad Lewis, who had been sadly killed in action early in 2011. Conrad had told his family at Christmas he wanted to bring his dog called Pegasus, home with him when he finished his tour and now his father wanted to fulfil Conrad’s last wish.
We knew this was an extremely difficult rescue to undertake but it was one we just had to do. Conrad had been stationed in what was known as the most dangerous place on earth and our chances of getting Peg out with the use of military transport were slim.
Thankfully we had the assistance of Conrad’s mates still in his unit and who were not too concerned about a slight breach of the rules. So cunningly disguised as working dog; Peg took her first and ride in a helicopter to get out of the current combat zone and meet up with the Nowzad driver. Her trip took several days and a sigh of relief was heard when in good health, she arrived at the Nowzad shelter in Kabul.
Letting Conrad’s parents Tony and Sandi know that Peg was safe was a very good moment!
After vaccinations and fundraising Peg was able to make the journey to UK quarantine during June 2011 where after six months she was successfully released to finally be a part of Conrad’s family.
Tony and Sandi have started a charity in the memory of their son Conrad, the 353rd British soldier to be killed in action in Afghanistan. 353
353 IS A STATE OF MIND. AND A STATEMENT. IT IS STANDING UP. AND STANDING OUT. IT IS MAKING A DIFFERENCE. AND NOT BEING THE SAME. IT IS KEEPING YOUR COOL. AND BEING COOL. IT IS SERIOUS. AND IT IS FUN. IT IS THOUGHTFUL. AND IT IS BANTER.
Tony has also visited Kabul himself with the BBC – it was an amazing experience for all of us at Nowzad when Tony came along to visit us as part of the trip. You can read about Tony’s inspiring visit to Kabul here