PRESS RELEASE
RELEASE DATE: Immediately (February 10, 2005)
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Gene Baierschmidt
(801) 261-2919 ex. 202 - office
HELP HUMANE SOCIETY GET UTAH SOLDIER'S MASCOT DOGS TO AMERICA!
On January 30, the Humane Society of Utah received the following e-mail from SPC Dezerae Sharpe, a Utah National Guard soldier stationed in Bagram, Afghanistan:
"I am writing to you on behalf of my company's mascots. I found them as puppies, abandoned behind a shed when they were a few weeks old, and they have been like sunshine to all of us ever since. I thought twice before I assumed responsibility for these two scraggly pups, but my heart won over my head and I've never regretted it for a minute. In the nine months my unit has been away from home, these dogs have kept everyone's spirits up. They've even been given papers from our Combat Stress Section certifying what good therapy and morale boosters they are!
"Chopper is a 45-pound sweetheart who likes to eat everything in sight, and the other is a little 35-pound bundle of energy and attitude that we call Apache. The best I can tell is that they're some kind of Afghani Labs, maybe.
"I've fought long and hard to keep these pups out of harm's way, and now I'm fighting to get them safely to the States to the loving home I have waiting for them. I've put them on the MILITARYMASCOTS.ORG website where people can donate money and help in any way possible to get them to America. Chopper and Apache will require two different flights and will have to board planes in two different countries. Our woodshop is already building them transportation kennels, since we can't get any shipped here.
"My unit leaves at the end of March to go home, and if I can't get them out of Afghanistan before then, they'll be put to sleep even though they've had all their vaccinations and have the right paperwork. Please, I can't do this on my own. All I need is a little help from a lot of people who care about animals. Can the Humane Society do anything?"
HSU President and General Counsel Craig S. Cook immediately responded, "Thanks for the great work you've done for Chopper and Apache. The Humane Society will do everything we can to help you bring
these guys home."
The general public can be part of Operation Mascot Rescue, too. The entire cost to get them to America will be $6,000. Interested parties can go directly to the website, MILITARYMASCOTS.ORG, to pledge funding, or they can come to or mail a check to the Humane Society's facility at 4242 South 300 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84107, or PO Box 573659, Salt Lake City, UT 84157, and we'll forward it to the rescue fund. EVERY SINGLE PENNY DONATED TO THIS CAUSE WILL BE USED TO BRING CHOPPER AND APACHE TO UTAH.
Please make a donation to help, either at MILITARYMASCOTS.ORG or the Humane Society of Utah. These canine heroes have earned the support of every Utahan.