In 2006.....
the men of Kilo Company of 42 Commando Royal Marines arrived in the war-torn town of 'Now Zad' in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Their mission; provide stability for the local people during a period of ever decreasing security.
A few of the Royal Marines soon realised that it wasn’t only the local people that needed their help and it was not long before many of the stray dogs that roamed the town of 'Now Zad' had a guardian for the first time in their lives; in the form of Royal Marine Sergeant 'Pen' Farthing.
Breaking up an organised dog fight that was taking place right outside their remote compound, Pen never realised that one of those fighting dogs would then befriend him. Obviously, the Royal Marine could not say no to those big sad eyes and the now ‘former fighting dog’ became the Sergeant's battle buddy.
And the dog received his first ever name – "Nowzad".
The 'tail' of the rescue of Nowzad and his other canine buddies from that remote desert outpost of Now Zad, was published as a best-selling book ‘One Dog at a Time’ which you can purchase from the Nowzad online store. All proceeds from the sale of the book through our website will support our charitable work in Afghanistan and Ukraine.
Nowzad was initially formed in 2007 to help soldiers rescue stray dogs and cats they had befriended whilst serving in various regions of Afghanistan.
Over a period of almost 15 years, Nowzad rescued over 1700 dogs and cats, reuniting them with their ‘buddies’ in the USA, Canada, UK, France, Holland, Germany, Italy, Australia, Thailand, japan, Spain, South Africa, Finland and Croatia.
Every single one is special to the charity and has a story to tell.
However it was clear that Nowzad’s work didn’t end there. The pressing mission was to help the animals not so lucky to find peace and comfort away from the conflict. Pen was determined for the charity to start at the beginning and help those animals left behind, and the people of the war-torn country.
And so Nowzad’s first legacy was the opening of the country’s first proper small animal veterinary clinic and animal shelter in Kabul in 2008.