Hope to have info by end of day today.
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Wow, I just checked my PayPal account and nearly shot Gevalia out my nose when I saw we have raised $2,863.86 in a day and a half, making Solha the most expensive dog we will ever own (and she hasn’t even been to an American vet yet).
Nowzad quoted us a price of $2,500 “plus in country costs” to ship her home. Not exactly sure what those additional “in country costs” are, but Jake and I will cover it, whatever they end up being.
To all you dog lovers and troop supporters out there, THANK YOU again for your time, generosity, compassion and donations. We are praying for a happy ending to this story. Our aim is to give this little stray a great dog life, filled with love, exercise, companionship and, considering her serious fence scaling abilities, agility training. (Look for Solha in the next USDAA championship.)
I’m going to ask that no more donations are made until I receive instructions from Jake for how to proceed. If you would still like to show your support for Nowzad, which rescues stray and abandoned animals in war torn countries, feel free to make a direct contribution to them here.
As always, stay tuned…
THANKS AGAIN!
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We’re getting word that Solha will likely be transported from Jake’s base to a larger Afghan city this weekend. From there, I don’t have information regarding the remainder of her journey. Not sure how long it will take, the route, or in what conditions she will be kept (though I do know Jake is supplying the crate she will fly in). I have no choice but to assume that because a dog rescue agency is handling this, Solha will be transported safely and humanely. I don’t even know what US airport she will be flying into! Everything is very much in flux at this point, but it seems all but certain Solha will be in Virginia months before Jake.
We held off soliciting donations for Nowzad until we were certain this rescue could happen. So even though this rescue may seem last minute — she could be airborne as of Saturday! — know that Jake has been laying the groundwork for months.
I’ll be sure to keep you posted as details emerge. We’re still not there with our financial goals, but THANK YOU, everyone, who has contributed so far to this rescue. We are getting close! I am consistently amazed by the generosity of (mostly) strangers…and grateful to know that such compassionate, caring and superior people who probably also have great hair read this blog.
Stay tuned…
UPDATE: The fundraiser is over. We have reached our financial goals. If you would still like to make a donation toward rescuing animals in war torn countries, please donate to the animal rescue agency Nowzad directly. They need all the help they can get. Thank you!
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We just got word that we are able to bring Solha home from Afghanistan!
It’s taken a long time to figure out the logistics of this rescue for a few critical reasons:
1) The dog rescue agency Jake has been working with, Nowzad, is desperate for funds. Their shelter in Afghanistan is completely overcrowded with a backlog of animals waiting for transport that probably won’t happen due to lack of resources. Most Nowzad staffers do not get paid. They rely exclusively on public donations to survive. Because they have no money, communication is spotty. Jake was beginning to think they weren’t interested in his case because he rarely heard from them. But he realized it’s not that — it’s because Nowzad is a dog shelter run by Westerners in a country where dogs are regarded as vermin and Westerners as infidels. Nowzad is run by civilians; they do not have military protection. To do what they do is extremely brave…or foolish, depending on your point of view. (You can read about the history of Nowzad here…it’s very inspiring!)
2) It’s Afghanistan, a country with no infrastructure and a lot of roadside bombs. There is no mail service. There are no in-country shipping companies. DHL, FedEx and UPS, which run intermittently out of Afghanistan, do not ship live animals. Afghan highways aren’t exactly Autobahn quality. It’s not feasible to transport a dog by truck because the journey is simply too dangerous, especially considering that Nowzad’s shelter is located as far from Jake’s base as possible. Which means Solha must be transported by plane.
3) It’s not cheap. Nowzad quoted us a price of $2,500, plus in-country costs. They haven’t provided any kind of cost breakdown so we don’t know exactly where the money goes, but my guess is it’s simply the cost of transporting a live animal by plane in a war torn country.
We are asking for donations to help cover the cost of Solha’s journey to the United States. This dog has been through a lot and she’s not even two. She survived in the desert before wandering onto Jake’s base as a puppy. She survived a pit viper attack. She can climb an 8-foot high chain link fence. Despite these travails, she’s given Jake a lot of peace and companionship over there, and he knows that despite her wily tendencies (see the 8-foot high fence), she will make a great addition to our family (provided we build a big fence). Her future is far less certain in Afghanistan.
If you would like to help us bring her home, please click the DONATE button on the Rurally Screwed homepage, upper left. All funds go to Nowzad. If we end up raising more money than the cost of the rescue, all proceeds will still go to Nowzad as there are many, many dogs and cats in that part of the world in need of a safe and loving home. If something happens to Solha during transport — which Nowzad said has happened in the past — all monies will still go to their organization. If we raise less than the required amount, Jake and I will gratefully shore up the rest. If you feel uncomfortable making a donation through this blog, feel free to make a donation directly to Nowzad, but please specify Solha by name in a note.
Lastly, this rescue is slated to happen very quickly, as in, within the next month. So if you do wish to donate, please do not hesitate — we need to turn over funds to Nowzad as soon as possible.
UPDATE: You can also “like” or post this link to your Facebook page or Twitter account. Spread the word!
Thank you again for your support.
Keeping my fingers crossed for a happy ending to this story.
UPDATE: The fundraiser is over. We have reached our financial goals. If you would still like to make a donation toward rescuing animals in war torn countries, please donate to the animal rescue agency Nowzad directly. They need all the help they can get. Thank you!
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I’m beginning to think this dog is part Houdini, part Genghis Khan.
Solha escaped from her enclosure again.
This marks her third break for it.
The first time she broke out, she was gone a week and a half before an Indian mechanic and casual acquaintance of Jake’s just happened to spot her rummaging through garbage a half mile from Jake’s base. She was returned to safety — then busted out again, the very next day.
Lest you think Jake is trying to restrain his dog with dental floss, know that he and his soldiers built a sizable, comfy dog run just for her, enclosed by an 8-foot high chain link fence replete with a large dog house and all kinds of chew toys.
The problem is, Jake has been working incredibly long hours recently so hasn’t had a lot of one-on-one time with his dog. She’s been spending a lot of time by herself in the pen. We’re learning you can’t keep an Afghan dog — who are as spirited and resilient as the people — confined to a limited space for long. Solha has figured out how to scramble over the eight foot fence. Jake even bent the top of the fence inward — a DIY version of razor wire – but she is able to pole vault over even that.
She broke out a third time recently, but thankfully wandered back of her own volition a few days later. Which tells me that though she has a rebellious streak, she’s not feral. She still craves the comforts of home — a warm bed, regular meals and a friendly nuzzle.
Jake figured out she’s been using her massive dog house as a launch pad onto the fence, so he removed it from her pen. Hopefully this will keep her confined as we figure out how best to bring her home.
I asked Jake if he thinks she might be too spirited for our family, but he said he thinks she’ll be just fine. He said she just needs ample time to run and play, which has been in short supply on a military base in Afghanistan. He said he’s confident she’ll make a wonderful family dog once she’s allowed to live a normal dog life.
But we’ll still probably want to build the mother of all dog fortresses in the back yard just in case.
UPDATE: I misunderstood the length of time Solha spends alone in her pen. (I chock this up to trying to “conversate” between here and Afghanistan.) Jake clarified that Solha is out and about with his guys during daylight hours, but is shut up at night.
As for shutting her up with another dog for company, Jake thinks it would be too risky. He says that most strays in Afghanistan behave more like “wolves,” and he’s afraid they might try to eat Solha, who has a gentle (but wily) disposition, if shut up for any length of time.
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Have you ever heard of the show Trick My Truck? It’s essentially Pimp My Ride for work trucks in which 18-wheelers, tow trucks, dump trucks, etc., are made over to look even more fierce and babe worthy than before (’cause you know how women just love a sexy tow truck). I’m familiar with this show because Jake has been known to become transfixed by it whenever we find ourselves in a hotel room with a zillion channels while traveling.
Anyway, Jake told me Afghan soldiers do something similar with their own work trucks.
Here, a member of the Afghan National Army (who happens to sport a dapper sweater vest) shows off his stylin’ ride. Note the multitude of flapping Afghan flags. And the front and back end mysteriously wrapped in netting. Jake says the Afghans adorn their supply trucks with so many doo-dads, bells and whistles that the trucks literally make noise as they roll across the desert, leading American soldiers to dub them ”jingle trucks.” My favorite embellishment on this jingle truck are the pile-up of fake flowers in the windshield. Can sweater vest guy even see over the top of them? Does it matter?
Two more examples of tricked out jingle trucks.
These guys sure take a lot of pride in their vehicles. Jingle all the way.
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The Army is big into acronyms, so big that listening to two soldiers talk is like eavesdropping on some twisted pidgin dialect.
There have been many times Jake will come home from drill and try to tell me about his weekend: “I took my APFT test then my NCO and I took our ANCOC over at the AOO and then went out for KFC…”
I think the acronym OD is because the Army is, for better or worse, bloated and bureaucratic, instilling a need to make things seem more important and complicated than they are.
So instead of a “the gym,” the Army will call it something like “the Physical Re-engineering Maintenance Facility,” or PRMF for short, even though “PRMF” is precisely two syllables longer than “the gym.” And instead of “a backpack,” the Army will call it an “all-purpose Lightweight Individual Carrying Equipment,” or ALICE. (“My back is killing me from carrying ALICE all day.”)
Nobody outside the military knows what the heck soldiers are talking about when they speak but maybe that’s the point. Perhaps acronyms are a deliberate form of code, a strategy for making the military seem more stealthy and secretive than it actually is.
I bring this up is because I received an email from Jake this morning informing me that his “NCOIC for the FSD” has purchased a copy of my book, Rurally Screwed, for his wife.
I think this is good news….though of course I can’t be sure.
Regardless of the confusion, some acronyms have infiltrated the American lexicon that will never go away because they’re just that good. (Readers with tender eyes may want to look away.)
Three of my favorites:
SNAFU: Situation Normal: All F*&$ed Up Sample sentence: ”There’s been another SNAFU with the mashed potatoes in the chow hall.”
FUBAR: F*&$ed Up Beyond All Recognition Sample sentence: ”Colonel Smith’s Power Point presentation was FUBAR, per usual.”
BCD: Birth Control Device See: these Army issue spectacles:
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Man, I love Hershey chocolate, even though to some that sounds like reaching for an old Twinkie when there’s a fresh French eclair nearby.
Ours is a world of insufferable chocolate stratification, where a bar of brown is judged by its cacao content, or the total amount of ingredients derived from the cacao bean, where real chocolate comes from.
Sixty percent cacao, at least according to the chocolate aristocracy, is considered conventional, like a girl who buys her first Jessica Simpson Collection handbag at Macy’s.
Seventy two percent cacao is for chocolate lovers of a slightly more discriminating stature — like the girl who splurges on a Coach satchel.
And eighty six percent cacao? That’s Dutchess Kate Middleton to you.
And what’s the cacao content of Hershey milk chocolate? It’s 11 percent. Eleven percent – not even technically chocolate, at least according to chocolate snobs.
It’s come to my attention that eating a Hershey bar in public anymore is like walking out of the fitting room of the Dress Barn with the back of your skirt tucked into your mohogeny panty hose and asking the attendant “How do I look?” with a piece of spinach stuck in your teeth.
I’ve actually had people say to me while I try to quietly nibble even a fun-size Hershey bar:
- “Hershey? I thought you were an adult.”
- “Hershey? Really? Hershey?”
- “Hershey? Why not just eat a box of Nerds?”
I like Hershey chocolate. I like that it’s “America’s chocolate.” I like its standard size. I enjoy its slightly chalky texture. It’s often accused of tasting cloyingly, one-dimensionally sweet, but I find that is an accusation flung by people who haven’t eaten it in awhile. A Hershey bar does not finish sweet, but “tangy,” due to a specific processing technique. Its that characteristic sour finish I enjoy most, which distinguishes it from all the fancy chocolate out there, cacao content be damned.
My name is Jessie, and I eat Hershey.
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My good friend Chin, a clinical herbalist with her own line of herbal medicines and skin care products who I swear I must post about weekly, recently took the plunge by opening her very own all natural apothecary here in town.
Chin ran her business for years out of her house — and built up a hefty client base and successful online presence in the process. While running operations out of the home is wonderful for keeping expenses down and affords flexible hours (ideal for busy moms), there comes a point when it can hold the self-employed person back. For instance, you forget how to speak and brush your teeth and have already eaten breakfast, lunch and dinner by three o’clock. I’m not saying that happened to Chin as she’s too much of a go-getter for such sloth (it *cough, cough* happened to me) but I think she realized she had to leave the nest in order to grow her business to the next level. You gotta spend money to make money…
Isn’t it charming? I love the jar collection.
…and the vintage medicine cabinet.
She even gave her labels a fresh twist.
Her herbal teas are the best!
Did I mention she also performs reiki massage? She installed a massage table in the adjacent room. (I don’t think Darby here much enjoys her big sister’s attempt at massage.)
A clever and inexpensive window treatment: Burlap, sold in rolls for a mere $7 each at Tractor Supply, transformed into a rustic window shade.
The burlap is folded over the “rod” — in this case, a stick! — and secured with either heavy duty tape or a thin strip of velcro.
Looks great, right?
Chin used the leftover burlap — it comes in generous rolls — as an apron to hide buckets and supplies beneath her work table.
Congratulations on your new endeavor, Chin!
For more information about Chin’s products, check out her newly redesigned website here.
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All original content © 2012 by Jessie Knadler