Operation K-9s to Kandahar – Sending Military Working Dogs to Afghanistan

By Kara Ogushi. Published July 14, 2011.

On a recent mission dubbed Operation K-9s to Kandahar, 36 military dogs, similar to Cairo, made the long trek from Texas to Afghanistan, making it the largest relocation that Pet Relocation had attempted to date.

Pet Relocation is a full-service pet transportation company. They specialize in facilitating the door-to-door international or domestic relocation of your family pet.

“We were contacted by a logistics company located in Fort Washington, Md., looking for assistance. I immediately began researching all options for the relocation and began piecing together costs and a tentative plan,” Director of Client Relations Matt Kincaid said. “We had transported small numbers of dogs (one to five at a time), but this is the first time we transported such a large group.”

The plan consisted of transporting all dogs by ground from San Antonio to Houston Intercontinental Airport. They would then fly from Houston to Frankfurt, Germany. From Frankfurt the dogs would travel to Dubai, and then from Dubai they’d go to Kandahar.

Upon their arrival to Dubai, Kincaid devised three stations that the dogs would have to pass through. Station One consisted of having the dog cleared through customs, removed from his crate and provided with food. Station Two entailed the exercising of each dog, while Station Three was for bathing the dogs. But not everything went as smoothly as planned.

“The airplane we chartered from Dubai to Kandahar had some equipment issues the morning we were supposed to depart. This resulted in two additional days of boarding in Dubai until another aircraft could arrive. Luckily we were proactive in our preparation and could accommodate all dogs safely during their extended stay in Dubai. Upon arrival in Kandahar the military stated that these dogs arrived in the best condition of any others,” Kincaid said.

Kincaid also mentioned that there was one dog who was deemed an “escape artist” and had a special metal travel crate made just for him. “He definitely had a look that seemed to say ‘I’m smarter than you.’”

For more information about Pet Relocation and Operation K-9s to Kandahar, visit their blog.

PHOTO: Pet Relocation

Kara Ogushi

Contributing writer Kara Ogushi is a pet mom to two dogs and five rabbits. When she isn’t writing travel tips for pooches, she’s exploring new ways to share and create media.