Two puppies, found near death in an Afghanistan cave, are now stateside, happy and healthy.

  • Patrick Dunne discovered litter of puppies in Afghanistan
  • Rescued Dre, a three-legged puppy and Dari
  • The rest of the litter did not survive

Patrick Dunne of Brevard County is a medic for a military contractor.

On his latest trip to Afghanistan in December, he came across something so unexpected in the desolate, dry, dangerous desert, it was hard to believe.

"I heard there was a group of puppies living on the other side of the mountain from our guard post," Dunne said.

He and his colleagues went to check it out.

Inside a hole not even qualifying as a cave, a litter of newly-born puppies struggled to survive.

One of them stood out -- a girl, the runt of the litter. And she only had three legs.

"If I had left her out there, there was no way she was going to survive," said Dunne.

That's because when he brought them food, the other dogs would attack or step over her.

Dunne scooped her up and brought her back to the base and nursed the tiny dog back to health.

The pup became the hit of the camp -- so much so, he spoke to his wife.

"Instead of bringing just her home, we decided to bring one of her brothers home too," he said.

Wednesday was the big day.

Thanks to the Puppy Rescue Mission -- which covered most of the costs -- the sister and brother flew to their new home in Satellite Beach.

Puppy Rescue Mission rescues dogs from war zones where Americans are fighting.

"Dre' is the girl -- it means 'three' in Pashto, symbolizing her three legs. "Dari' is the boy.

Pashto is an Afghan dialect.

"They are Brevard County residents now," said Dunne with a big smile on his face.

Dunne is looking into getting a prosthetic leg for Dari.

Unfortunately the rest of the litter didn't survive.

You can learn more about the charity that brought Dre and Dari home by heading to the Puppy Rescue Mission website.