Lets Chat About Cats - Episode 16 with Special Guest Pen Farthing from NOWZAD

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What can you say about Pen Farthing....??? Some view him as a national hero for the work he has carried out to help and save animals but in the recent months the British Media have had nothing but a target on his back.
Pen Farthing comes from a military background most recently serving in Afghanistan. It was there he encountered a special dog (he later named Nowzad after the town they were based in the Helmund area of Afghanistan) and when the troops were moving on he knew he had to do all he could to save this dog and several others he was caring for at that time. After a long journey in awful conditions most of the dogs made it safely to the rescue centre and it was only a year later Pen realised more soldiers wanted to bring dogs home after serving and so Nowzad was born.
In 2007 Nowzad began the mission of helping cats, dogs and donkeys within the Afghanistan area. Animals which would otherwise have been left to fend for themselves and face a horrible death through starvation, cruelty, illness or disease.
Pen worked tirelessly with his amazing team and created a special place for these animals to be healed, spayed, neutered and find homes, sending them all over the world through adoptions. Pen also employed women as vets and workers and this supported modern values and respect within a country which had previously been known for treating women as second class citizens, often worthless.
In 2021 President Joe Biden announced the removal of the US troops in Afghanistan and shortly after the UK troops also started to leave. It was an emergency situation and the country was thrown into chaos as many people tried to flee the country which was swiftly taken over by the Taliban and people were desperate to find a way out.
Pen wanted to get himself and his staff to safety as well as his beloved animals. This was not easy and was like battling through a series of gauntlets. Facing violence and danger head on eventually Pen made it onto an aircraft with his animals and was brought with them to the UK. This was not easy or simple and the situation was changing hour by hour. No one can imagine the stress and anxiety this must have caused Pen and his team.
After Pen's return to the UK the British Media published many untruths about Pen and Nowzad and he had to speak his own truth to those who cared enough to listen. I was more than ready to listen.
Pen tells me about his departure from the place which had become his home, the struggle in trying to get his staff and animals to safety and what life is like for the small number who decided to stay behind for various reasons and who now take care of the donkeys and horses who could not be evacuated.
He talks about his career in the beginning and his plans for the future of Nowzad and updates me on the animals currently in quarantine and those who have been thankfully already adopted into wonderful new homes.
Pen has done so much for animals in a war stricken country and deserves support and to speak his truth.
Thank you Pen for all you have done! You really are a the epitome of what a hero should be!
Thanks for listening
Enjoy Fiona x
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