No Buddy Left Behind: Bringing U.S. Troops' Dogs and Cats Safely Home from the Combat Zone [Kindle Edition]

Terri Crisp (Author), Cynthia Hurn (Author)

Book Description

How the love of a stray dog or cat rescued in the combat zone helps U.S. troops deal with the trauma of war, and how one woman risks everything to bring these soldiers’ buddies home.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Terri Crisp's Out of Harm's Way:

''Poignant memories from an animal savior . . . Crisp's highly personalized accounts of daring rescues, incredible volunteer efforts, and the bonds of tenderness that form between humans and animals are quite touching.'' --Kirkus Reviews

Review

"For Operation Baghdad Pups to succeed, a huge number of people from diverse walks of life--high school students, airline executives, veterinarians, military officers, journalists and others--had to work in concert, with patience, determination and selflessness, to get the animals safely home. This is the story of human beings at their best." --The Star-Ledger

 

“The war took my son away, but that dog saved his life and brought him home again.”
—The mother of a Special Forces soldier whose dog was rescued by Operation Baghdad Pups

“Many soldiers who wouldn’t come for counseling before came just to see the puppy. While holding the dog, they would suddenly open up and we could establish therapeutic relationships. He was the best mental health technician on the team!”
—Major Jennifer Mann, USAF (Retired)

 

“I have sacrificed a lot to serve my country. All that I ask is to be allowed to bring home the incredible dog that wandered into my life here in Iraq and prevented me from becoming terribly calloused toward life.”
—A soldier requesting help from Operation Baghdad Pups

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 3581 KB
• Print Length: 264 pages
• Publisher: Lyons Press; 1 edition (October 4, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005UZNDW2
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #115,325 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #59 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > History > Americas > United States > Military History > Afghan War
  • #64 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > History > Americas > United States > Military History > Iraq War
  • #84 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Animal Care & Pets > Essays

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 45 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Joyful and heartwarming November 7, 2011

By kinseyka

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

It was wonderful to read the story behind the rescues that I'd been reading about through email about SPCA International and their Baghdad pups - safely bringing the cats and dogs - and recently even a donkey named Smoke (his story is not in the book) from an abusive and deadly existence in Iraq to America and the families of the soldiers - men and women- who relied on them and loved them. These animals are fiercely protective of our soldiers and they share a strong bond. Not all the stories end happily -- but it is an amazing mission that these folks do to bring these loved animals to safety.

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Book! A wonderful Testimonial to our stories..... November 3, 2011

By C. Anderson

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is an amazing book and a wonderful illustration of the remarkable work that Operation Baghdad Pups has accomplished for our troops and their furry friends. As a soldier and recipient of Operation Baghdad Pups support in saving our Squadron mascot/buddy, Balls the Cat (mission number 44, rescued on Jan 12th 2010), I can attest and relate to these heart-felt stories. I love this book and have given it to several friends and they have loved it too. Thank you Operation Baghdad Pups for what you do and thank you Terri and Cindy for your devotion to these animals and dedication in bringing these astonishing stories to print.

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Heartwarming October 19, 2011

By Diane

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This story exemplifies what a person with a "can do" attitude is able to accomplish against multiple major obstacles. Thankfully, for our well deserving soldiers, Terri Crisp was able to surmount the obstacles and save so many pets for them. It truly warmed my heart to read the correspondence from the soldiers and their families about the tremendously positive impact that the dogs and cats had upon the morale of the troops. Combining soldiers and pets together makes this book a winner.

27 of 31 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars CNN Investigated SPCA and Terri Crisp and revealed the frauds they are June 14, 2012

By Valerie

Format:Kindle Edition

On June 14, an investigative story CNN tonight on Anderson Cooper 360 aired regarding SPCA International and Terri Crisp.

[...]

Google "Terri Crisp" and "Attorney General" to learn everything you need to know about this fraud.

(CNN) -- A charity that raised close to $27 million to help animals worldwide spent nearly all of that money on fund-raising expenses paid to a direct-mail company.
In addition, CNN found that the charity, SPCA International, misrepresented one of its programs called "Baghdad Pups" on its tax filings and hired an officer for that program with a questionable background.
In 2010, SPCA International owed $8.4 million to Quadriga Art LLC and its affiliated company, Brickmill Marketing Services, according to publicly available Internal Revenue Service 990 tax records.
Quadriga Art is one of the world's largest direct-mail providers to charities and nonprofits. It is the same fund-raiser hired by two veterans charities that spent tens of millions of dollars for its services -- triggering a Senate investigation last month into whether one of the charities should retain its tax-exempt status.
That charity, Washington-based Disabled Veterans National Foundation, collected nearly $56 million in donations over the past three years yet paid Quadriga Art more than $60 million in fees, according to a CNN investigation into the charity's tax records.
'AC360' report prompts Senate to act Baucus talks about investigation Is charity for veterans a rip-off?
The other veterans charity, National Veterans Foundation, raised more than $22 million in donations over the past three years to help veterans yet spent about $18.2 million to pay Quadriga Art, according to IRS 990 forms....
The animal charity SPCA International is still in debt to Quadriga Art, according to a spokeswoman for the direct-mail firm, adding that's part of the charity's "aggressive strategy" to build a broad donor base.
"That resulted in an expected high cost in the beginning of their acquisition program," said the spokeswoman, who declined to be named. She called SPCA International's efforts a "successful strategy."
Business tactics questioned
There's no question that a charity needs to spend money to raise money, according to Bob Ottenhoff, president of the charity watchdog group GuideStar. But he said that SPCA International's tax records raise "a number of red flags."
"No. 1, there is an enormous amount of money going into fund-raising," Ottenhoff said. "It's not unusual for a nonprofit to fund-raise. In fact they need to fund-raise. But this organization has an enormous amount of fund-raising costs, certainly relative to the amount of money being spent."
Of the $14 million raised in 2010, SPCA International reports it spent less than 0.5% -- about $60,000 -- in small cash grants to animal shelters across the United States. It also said it spent about $450,000 -- about 3% of the total raised in 2010 -- to bring back animals from Iraq and Afghanistan as part of its "Baghdad Pups" program.
On its website and its tax filings, SPCA International describes "Baghdad Pups" as a program that "helps U.S. troops safely transport home the companion animals they befriend in the war zone."
Yet the charity admitted that only 26 of the nearly 500 animals transported to the United States from Iraq and Afghanistan were actually service animals. The rest were stray animals, said Stephanie Scott, the charity's communications director.

This photo from SPCA International shows one of the military dogs that the charity said it is bringing to the U.S. for adoption.
And those 26 service animals were not attached to military K-9 units but belonged to Reed Inc., a private contractor that built roads in Iraq and Afghanistan.
To highlight the work of the "Baghdad Pups" program, spokeswoman Terri Crisp appeared on CNN's sister network, HLN, last year with "Ivy" and "Nugget," two former bomb-sniffing dogs she said were abandoned.
"As the military pulls out and there's not as great a need to have these dogs, there's a surplus," Crisp told HLN. "These contractors don't know what to do with them so these are the dogs that are falling through the cracks and they need homes desperately."
She said it's "unthinkable" that the military contractors do not return the dogs back to their countries of origin.
"And that's why SPCA International is trying to put a spotlight on this so these dogs are not overlooked," Crisp said.
But a spokesman for Reed, the contractor that employed the dogs, told CNN that the animals had been given secure new homes out of the war zone in Kurdistan and that Crisp had suddenly shown up "out of the blue" asking to take them to the United States.
When asked about those comments, SPCA International spokeswoman Scott told CNN the charity had "not heard that from Reed before" and said the dogs had been removed from "an uncaring environment in Iraq."
Questions raised about charity's management
It is not the first time questions have been raised about Crisp or charities with which she has been involved.
Crisp once headed a California-based animal rescue charity, Noah's Wish, that reached a settlement agreement in 2007 with the state of California. The California attorney general investigated whether contributions for "rescuing and caring for the animal victims of Hurricane Katrina" were used for that purpose.
In that settlement agreement from the summer of 2007, Crisp agreed not to "serve as an officer, director or trustee or in any position having the duties or responsibilities of an officer, director or trustee, with any non-profit organization for a period of five (5) years from the date of the execution of this Settlement Agreement."

SPCA International founder Pierre Barnoti is fighting his dismissal from Montreal SPCA.
Yet in a filing with the North Carolina secretary of state's office last year, SPCA International named Crisp in its list of officers and directors.
Crisp did not admit any wrongdoing in the California settlement, but the charity agreed to return $4 million in donations to California officials out of the $8 million raised by Noah's Wish.
When asked about the settlement agreement, SPCA International's Scott said, "We do not believe Terri Crisp is in violation of her settlement agreement in her capacity working for SPCA International."
Pierre Barnoti, who founded U.S.-based SPCA International in 2006, also has a questionable record as a charity manager.
Three years after he founded SPCA International and became its president, Barnoti was fired as the Montreal SPCA's president after leaving the Canadian charity deeply in debt to Quadriga Art, according to Nicholas Gilman, Montreal SPCA's executive director.
Gilman said that the Montreal SPCA still owes Quadriga Art nearly $2 million and that the American fund-raising company has a lien on the Montreal organization's headquarters building.
Barnoti told CNN he is fighting his dismissal and, when asked why he was fired, he responded, "It's not finished yet so there's no point in discussing something that still is ongoing."
He also defended Crisp, saying, "She is there under the bullets trying to save dogs and cats and bringing them back to the American soldiers who befriended them." Read more ›

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars If you love dogs, DO NOT SUPPORT TERRI CRISP!! November 22, 2012

By Sundoggie

Format:Hardcover

Anderson Cooper of CNN reported this evening (11/22/12) on how Terri Crisp deceives donors of "Bagdad Dogs"/"SPCA". She would like you to believe that she is raising all kinds of money to help soldiers return home with their dogs, etc. Instead she takes millions of dollars and makes it disappear-between salaries for her and her daughter, along with suspicious "fundraising expenses". If you truely care about dogs, like I do-support honorable organizations such as the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and The Humane Society of the United States. It sickens me to think of millions of hard-earned American dollars sent to Terri Crisp's organizations with virtually nothing spent for the purpose it is supposed to go to. I'm sure this book is great, and I feel sorry for the people who colaborated with Terri on this book. See cnn.com/2012/06/14/us/animal-charity-investigation for more information.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must-Read for Animal Lovers Everywhere! February 10, 2012

By Bibliophile By the Sea TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD

"No Buddy Left Behind: Bringing U.S. Troops' Dogs and Cats Safely Home from the Combat Zone", was such a wonderful audio book experience. Pet lovers everywhere will be able to relate to the lost, lonely, empty feeling that most likely would hit us if we had to leave the country and also leave behind our animals that have helped us through many sad and uncertain times.

In the midst of a country torn apart by war, American Soldiers forced to leave their families behind in the states, tried to make the best of a very difficult situation. Loneliness and depression were often commonplace, and although soldiers were forbidden to befriend stray animals they came in contact with while fighting a war, the rules were often bent to give the servicemen something positive, something to care about and look forward to at the end of their long days.

With a genuine concern for what would happen to the soldier's new best friends, when they left Iraq and Afghanistan, several military personnel contacted Terri Crisp, International Program Manager for Operation Baghdad Pups with the SPCA International to plead their case as to what their new companion meant to them, and why their animal should be shipped back to the U.S.

Although there is strict criteria which needs to be met, if the animal is eligible for the program, the organization provides all of the veterinary care, and makes all the necessary transportation arrangement to make things go as smoothly as possible. Since 2008, Terri, along with a team of dedicated volunteers rescued and transported some 280+ animals out of the war zone and eventually into a loving home of a serviceman or their family members.... This book tells not only the personal stories of what the military personnel have endured while at war, but it also tells the stories of what the animals (mostly dogs and some cats) have endured. Despite the conditions the animals endured, they still were able to give something back to those who rescued them. It was a win -- win for man and their 4-legged friend. The stories are very personal, and although for the most part heartwarming, there are sad moments when tears were shed as well. I loved everything about this book, and I especially enjoyed the afterward, in which we learned a bit about what life was like once the animals had homes in the States. What a wonderful organization! What a wonderful book!

A must-read or must-listen to for animal lovers everywhere. Read more ›