Lori Kalef -SPCA International
An Afghan refugee living in British Colombia was finally reunited with her dog Lucky after 10 months apart.
Sending Lucky and her cat Leo aboard an SPCA International flight from Kabul to Vancouver in February of 2022, Freshta Siddiqui, wasn’t sure if or when she would see them again.
SPCA Int. was flying home pets belonging to those worried for their safety after the Islamic Emirate took control of Afghanistan, and said that Siddiqui’s story “really touched our hearts.”
Having arrived in Pakistan, Siddiqui and her mother had to wait 10 months before coming to Canada to collect her animals, who the SPCA had been paying to house in a shelter and foster home all that time.
“Lucky means family to me,” Siddiqui told CBC News. “Lucky means a part of my heart that was gone and now, I’ve got him.”
When she finally saw Lucky she ran to him saying “Salem, salem”—Arabic for peace and hello together, though Lucky had no plans on being peaceful, being hardly able to sit still long enough for a kiss on the nose.
She adopted the now-3-year-old Anatolian shepherd dog after she saw him being abused by some kids on the streets of Kabul.
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After he and Leo arrived at Vancouver International Airport, Lori Kalef, director of programs for SPCA International, said his separation anxiety, trauma, and knack for opening doors made it very hard to find a foster home for him.
They did eventually find one south of the border in Portland, Oregon.
“Lucky is a very, very funny, big goofy dog. He has no idea how big he is, he thinks he’s a lapdog,” said Kalef. “He loves to play, he loves toys, and he loves to open doors.”
WATCH the story below from CBC News…
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