Bowling fundraising event helps our troops in Afghanistan and other war zones bring home their dogs

Battle Buddy Bowling, an August 24 fundraiser featuring bowling, food, and raffles, will help our troops get the dogs and cats they love home from war. The event, which begins at 2 pm at Fox Bowl, 1101 Butterfield Road in Wheaton, will raise money for The Puppy Rescue Mission, a nonprofit, all-volunteer organization that helps US troops bring home dogs and cats they adopt while serving overseas. These animals become true “battle buddies” who are bonded to their military service members and provide physical protection and emotional comfort during difficult combat deployments.

Over the past four years, The Puppy Rescue Mission has brought home more than 600 dogs and cats for men and women of our military stationed in Afghanistan, Kuwait, Iraq, Africa, and other posts across the globe. Every rescue begins when a military service member writes to ask for help getting a loyal animal companion home from war.

Their stories are surprisingly similar. In the harsh environments where our troops serve, animals are typically treated cruelly. Kind-hearted American troops rescue dogs and cats from garbage pits, dog fights, and physical abuse. Units of Navy SEALS or Marines take turns nursing an injured puppy or kitten back to health. The animals return their troop’s devotion and bring love and laughter to otherwise bleak surroundings.

Wheaton native Army SPC Maryann Yang is currently serving in Afghanistan as part of the 956 Movement Control Team from Fort Sheridan, Illinois. She quickly fell in love with an Afghan “Kuchi hound” puppy named Patches who was part of a litter rescued by a fellow soldier. Thanks to The Puppy Rescue Mission, Patches arrived safely at O’Hare Airport in May and is currently living with a foster family in Des Plaines while SPC Yang finishes her deployment.

Patches’ foster mom, Simone Graham, a military wife with a Marine husband, was eager to help because her family understands the stress of combat deployments.  Her husband, Major Jarrod A Graham, was deployed four times to Iraq. Simone and Patches will be attending Battle Buddy Bowling as special guests.

The event donation is $25 for adults and $15 for children under 12 and includes two or three games; shoes; and pizza, salad, and soda.  Fun raffle and auction items include a Chicago Blackhawks bag-toss game board, sports memorabilia autographed by Brandon Marshall and Dan Hampton of the Chicago Bears and Bobby Hull and Denis Savard of the Chicago Blackhawks, tickets to a Northwestern football game, and gift baskets for children and pets. Participants can also receive coaching tips from pro bowler Bill Spigner. For information about the event, call Lydia at 773-625-0798 or email PRMFundraising63@gmail.com.

About The Puppy Rescue Mission

The Puppy Rescue Mission was founded in April 2010 by Anna Cannan after her fiancé (and now husband) Army Sergeant Christopher Chiasson deployed to Afghanistan and told Cannan the story of three local dogs that had befriended soldiers at his combat outpost and instinctively protected them from a suicide bomber. The three dogs attacked the bomber, who had tried to infiltrate the camp during the night, saving all 50 troops at the camp. Although one of these loyal dogs was killed in the blast, another dog later gave birth to puppies, which the soldiers quickly adopted as their own. When Chiasson asked Cannan to help him bring his beloved puppy home to Maine, Cannan soon found herself scrambling to help six other soldiers bring their own dogs home too.

Cannan began fundraising with raffles, yard sales, and a Facebook page to raise the approximately $21,000 she needed to get the first seven dogs transported to USA. Today, The Puppy Rescue Mission has grown into a nationwide network of thousands of supporters linked by social media and commitment to the group’s mission.

The Puppy Rescue Mission receives ongoing requests from deployed service members who don’t want to abandon their loyal battle buddy when they return home from war. As the United States begins withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, requests for help are ever more urgent. Rescue costs vary depending on an animal’s size, but each dog costs roughly $4,500 to cover veterinary care and transportation from the field to an Afghan or Kuwaiti shelter and then home to USA. Donations are always needed and can be mailed to The Puppy Rescue Mission, PO Box 1516, Celina, TX 75009.  Supporters can learn more about the group’s work at www.puppyrescuemission.com and follow daily rescue updates on Facebook at www.facebook.com/puppyrescuemission