How To Save The Rescue Pets In Afghanistan Before The Aug. 31 Deadline

Kabul Small Animal Rescue has a big responsibility on its shoulders. As a massive amount of Afghans flee the country, their animals are being left behind.

The rescue group is gathering these animals in an attempt to get them on a cargo plane out of Afghanistan by Aug. 31, the withdrawal deadline for the U.S. to leave Afghanistan.

“Conditions are dire. Our animals are safe, and we are still open and ready to help any animals that cross our paths! It is a dangerous time but the KSAR staff will not desert the animals. We are trying to get them to safety out of country and money is needed,” the rescue group said in the fundraiser's post.

The group is seeking to raise $1.5 million for a cargo plane that will hold 200 dogs and cats, the rescue organization’s staff, and their families out of Kabul. Contributions can be sent by going to the fundraiser's site.

“On Monday morning, the first day after their conquest of the city, a group of low-level Taliban/Taliban-looking (very hard to tell the difference) thugs came into the clinic. In order to keep our staff and animals safe, and my decision alone, I directly approached a Taliban elder on that morning and formally asked that our staff and clinic be allowed to safely operate until we can evacuate all animals and staff and their families. We have been granted this uncomfortable agreement, and only because of it have we been able to get into Taliban-held compounds to rescue dogs and pets left behind by internationals,” Charlotte Maxwell-Jones, the American director and founder of the Kabul Small Animal Rescue, posted Sunday on Facebook.

The $1.5 million amount can't fall short or “all bets are off,” Maxwell-Jones told NPR. The group is also scrambling to get food for all the animals.

After that, it is unknown how to traveling out of Afghanistan, as the Taliban is already banning most from traveling out of the country.

The mass evacuation has called for desperate measures, forcing residents to leave with just the clothes on their backs and a possible small bag.