Soldiers' hero dog Sandbag to be flown to UK - Update

A stray dog who became a mascot for British soldiers in Iraq has been transported to a safe house with his puppy in preparation for their flight to the UK. Troops were forced to return home without their four-legged friend Sandbag earlier this year and feared he would not last long once they had left - although he was rumoured to have already survived being shot five times.

They were worried he would be put down by local Iraqis or killed by other dogs, but the Society for the Welfare of Horses and Ponies (SWHP) tracked him down and his puppy Dirtbag around the port at Umm Qasr, near Basra, last week. The dogs were believed to have been living on the streets for about three weeks.

Three armoured vehicles were deployed last Thursday to rescue the dogs and transport them to a safe house in Baghdad where they will be cared for while arrangements are made to fly them to the UK. Emma Simpson from the SWHP, who has been co-ordinating the rescue attempt, said: 'It was a real challenge trying to track Sandbag and Dirtbag down and thank goodness we got there when we did.



'The US troops had already left the base and we gather the dogs had been living on the streets for over three weeks. I don't know how much longer they would have survived on their own. Now we just need to continue to raise enough money to bring them both and Hesco back to the UK.'

A fundraising appeal to bring Sandbag home, along with fellow mascot Hesco the cat, was launched on August 7 by the Blue Cross and the SWHP. Nearly 500 people worldwide have donated to the appeal since then, raising over £8,000 to date. Steve Goody, Blue Cross director of companion animal welfare, said: 'We've been amazed and extremely touched by the strength of public sympathy for these animals.'

Hesco, who had also been straying, was taken in last Thursday in Umm Qasr by local animal charity Baghdad Cat Rescue, run by former British soldier Louise Hastie. Ms Hastie is trying to arrange for the cat's transport to Baghdad to join the two dogs. All the animals will need to stay at the safe house for at least a month until the temperature cools enough to safely fly them to Kuwait for the journey to Britain.