Pets orphaned by Lebanon war to come to U.S.
300 homeless dogs and cats to be airlifted out of Beirut for adoption

Petros Karadjias / AP

BEIRUT, Lebanon - They endured a summer of war, but now relief is coming for Lebanon’s little known victims — cats and dogs abandoned when their owners fled the country during the early days of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Some 300 of the former pets are being flown to the United States on Monday for adoption.

For Mona Khoury, who has helped take care of the animals the past few weeks, the rescue operation is tinged with sadness.

“I’ve grown attached to them and I’m very, very sad that they’re leaving. But I know they’ll be in good hands and have a better life there,” she said.

Khoury is co-founder of Beirut for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which is working on the project with the American animal society Best Friends.

BETA rounded up many of the pets left behind when tens of thousands of foreigners and Lebanese with foreign passports evacuated the country in July and August.

The U.S. Embassy and others told the evacuees that pets would not be allowed on the ships and helicopters carrying them to safety, and many families had to abandon their animals or leave them with friends who later got rid of them.


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Catherine

It seems wherever tragedy strikes, people lose their pets. That only adds to the sadness.

We don't realize (not turly) just how much our pets mean to us while we have them. It is so difficult when they are gone--the wound that never heals.