Ex-Royal Marine forced to put beloved dogs down as Taliban closed in

A former Royal Marine commando was forced to put his beloved dogs down after the Taliban closed in on the Afghanistan capital of Kabul.

Paul ‘Pen’ Farthings took to Facebook from his base in Afghanistan and begged for his animals to be saved.

In a heartbreaking turn of events, he explained the Taliban were just ‘10 minutes away’ and he had no other option than to put the older and injured dogs down – after the militant group ‘banned dog ownership when in power last time’.

“This is it. Everything we have worked for over the last few years is over,” he said, before calling on the government to step in and bring his colleagues home to safety, “I’m not leaving until they are safe”, he added.

Pen set up Nowzad in 2007, a charity in Devon that helps save animals in war zones and reunites them with the troops who rescued them. During his time in Nawzad in Helmand Province, Pen rescued a dog from an organised dog fight. He named him Nowzad, took him back home to Devon and founded the charity.

Speaking at the charity’s headquarters in Kabul, he said:

“It’s game over for us. There is no tomorrow for the people of Afghanistan. This is it. I always thought there was hope. I always thought the West was going to be there for Afghanistan.

“I’m so ashamed right now. I’m ashamed to be British. We have absolutely destroyed the futures of so many Afghans.

“What the heck was the last 20 years for? We have just sent Afghanistan back to the 1990s.”

You can donate to Nowzad here.