Pup’s 44 day Journey Inspires Book, Rescue Program

Category: Pets and Animals
By Ji Young Min

Cinnamon's journey out of the war-torn Middle East inspired the book "44 Days Out of Kandahar" and SPCA International's Operation Baghdad Pups. (Pet Pulse Illustration by Mike Lloyd)
July 1, 2008
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Alice Feffer knew her husband, Mark, had a guardian angel when the former Navy Reservist sent a photo of a puppy he had befriended while on duty in Kyrgyzstan.
The puppy, named Cinnamon, reminded her of the family's recently deceased pet, Jackson.
"As soon as I saw her eyes I felt Jackson's spirit coming out of her eyes and getting a message to me that she was going take care of Mark during the war," said Feffer.
During the height of war -- in the middle of the 2005 Christmas season -- Cinnamon and her mother, believed to be of the Saluki breed indigenous to the Middle East, walked onto the Kandahar airbase and into the lives of the soldiers.
Soon after their arrival, Cinnamon's mom disappeared, but the young dog quickly bonded with the soldiers, who gave her scraps and leftovers from the chow hall.
Cinnamon's independenct spunk sparked an affinity in Mark. Six months later, as Mark's tour ended, he decided to adopt her with the blessing of all of the troops.
"From the moment I decided to bring her back to the U.S., I was telling her about it," Mark Feffer said. " I don't know if she understood where she was going, but she had a big impact on a lot of soldiers' lives."
Cinnamon needed lots of paper work to prepare for her trip to the States -- not an easy task since there are virtually no vets in Kyrgyzstan where Feffer was stationed and no soldier had really adopted a pet from a war zone before.
"We all feared for her future," said Christine Sullivan, who chronicled the episode in her book "44 Days Out of Kandahar." "Animals over there are not as well taken care of as they are here in the U.S."
With Feffer on a military flight back to the states Cinnamon was entrusted to a contractor. But plans went awry when the dog handler abandoned Cinnamon at the airport. The handler allegedly threatened to kill Cinnamon and kicked her crate after the civilian airline would not allow the dog onto the airplane.
"I felt guilty that I had taken her from where she was quite content in Kandahar living with the Americans and put her into a situation that I didn't know," said Feffer.
Sullivan then took charge, reaching out to everyone in an e-mail campaign for help.
"People we didn't know were offering encouragement and support and felt that to find Cinnamon was the right thing to do," said Sullivan, who is also Mark's sister.
In the middle of the 44-day search for cinnamon came some hope from SPCA International's Terri Crisp. She was able to help track down the lost dog.
Apparently an airline worker gave Cinnamon to a local family, and after cross-cultural negotiations, and the help of a local US airman, Cinnmon was back on a flight to the States and home to the Feffers, and to an audience of admirers and internationally journalists -- including Sullivan.
Her book details Cinnamon's story which helped create the SPCA International's Operation Bagdhad Pups. The organization now funds animal transfers for American soldiers who have adopted while on duty overseas.
Proceeds of Sullivan's books go to various organizations including Operation Bagdhad Pups, Low Cost Spay and Neuter, Caring for Animals in Need, and Caring for Unadoptable Seniors.