Operation Ark
August 2021. The Taliban invaded Kabul.
The British Government was "Missing in Action".
The evacuation was disastrous, shambolic and deadly.
Pen Farthing refused to abandon his charity’s staff or rescue animals. Operation Ark was born.
He was branded a villain who valued “pets over people”, blamed for deserting Afghans, accused of risking British soldiers – nothing could be further from the truth.
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One Dog at a Time
An inspiring ‘tail’ of one man’s determination to make a difference to the dogs of war.
Pen Farthing served as a Royal Marine for over 20 years before a tour of duty to Afghanistan changed his life forever. Patrolling in the remote Afghan market town of Now Zad he broke up a dog fight organised by the local Police.
Pen wasn’t to know it at the time but one of the those dogs involved in the fight was to adopt Pen as his new owner and much to the amusement of the Marines make Pen the unofficial dog warden of Now Zad.
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No Place Like Home
Nowzad and Tali make the safety of their forever home in the west but the story is far from over….
Whilst serving in Afghanistan sergeant Pen Farthing provided a safe-haven to a number of local dogs at his military base. Having grown close to the dogs during his tour of duty, Pen knew that when it came to the time to head home, he wouldn’t be able to leave them behind. And so began a plan to bring two of the dogs, NowZad and Tali, back to the UK.
Twelve months later, the dogs are safely out of quarantine in London and Pen has left the Marines, after twenty years active service. But he barely has time to miss life in action – instead he now faces the biggest challenge of his life. Inspired by his work rescuing NowZad and Tali he founds a charity, Nowzad Dogs, and finds himself inundated with requests from marines and soldiers to give more dogs a chance of a new life in the West.
Whether it’s little Helmand, Fubar or Beardog – or the unruly litter known as the Char Badmashis or Four Hooligans – Pen does his utmost to give these dogs the chance they deserve. It is a frustrating and sometimes dangerous process, and while some dogs make it out to safety, others, tragically, do not. But a look out the window to see his own Afghan hounds with bright eyes and glossy coats tells him it’s all worthwhile.
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Wylie
For a dog born into the harsh reality of life on the streets of Afghanistan to one day being crowned top crossbreed dog during the Kennel Club’s Crufts, the largest dog show on earth, is nothing short of a miracle. But for Wylie, the gentle cropped eared ball of fur, miracles seemed to happen quite regularly.
Beaten and abused, Wylie suffered terrible injuries that needed urgent treatment. Rescued close to death, with hacked off ears and a severed tail he was attended to by soldiers who feared he would not last the night. Astonishingly he did, only to return days later with new injuries.
But a lifeline came when he was rescued by animal welfare charity Nowzad Dogs and flown to Britain in preparation for a new life in Australia with the soldier that had first taken care of his injuries.
But failing the strict Australian import regulation tests left Wylie stranded in the UK and the charity asking the question; ‘who would take a chance with an undomesticated stray?’ Luckily for Wylie his biggest adventure yet was about to be begin…
This is the incredible and heart-warming story of a dog who never gave up on people.
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