A FORMER Royal Marine is fighting to get a stray puppy he rescued from certain death on the streets of Iraq back home to Scotland.
Alex Cairnie, 39, has named the dog Warpaws – for her fighting qualities – after he found it crying and whimpering under a container in the heat of Basra.
Warpaws had been left dehydrated, starving and unable to walk, passing blood and covered in glue and ticks.
After making the discovery, Mr Cairnie, a commando between 1997 to 2004, tried to clean it up, shaving off its fur which had been matted by the glue and removing the ticks from its ears.
But Warpaws is still weak and the former soldier is concerned it will still not survive.
The oil and gas worker said: “I heard a dog crying for days, but colleagues said I was hearing things.
“I kept looking and after four or five days I found her. She was covered in hard set glue and had some serious skin tears.
“She could not walk and could not eat – she was very dehydrated. I have had dogs all my life and have a great love of all breeds. I would never not help an injured animal.
“In 45 degrees centigrade heat she should already be dead. I know a fighter when I see one.”
Mr Cairnie, originally from Neilston, East Renfrewshire, hopes to be able to bring Warpaws home when he comes back on Monday.
He has posted videos and pictures of the little dog’s progress and has been inundated with messages of support.
A friend has set up a crowdfunding account to help pay for Warpaws’ food, vaccinations, quarantine and transportation to the UK.
The account has already surpassed its target, raising more than £3,600 in just two days.
A Facebook group created to help with the campaign has amassed nearly 2,000 members, while updates on the dog’s health have received hundreds of likes and shares.
Mr Cairnie said he was shocked by the response, adding: “So many people have contacted me. I’m truly humbled by that.
“If she survives and I am able to get her out of Iraq she will come to the UK or Spain with me and my family. She will not be going anywhere else.”
On Tuesday, Warpaws was taken to Basra by one of his friends to be treated by a vet but the pup was still passing blood.
In an update on the Warpaws campaign Facebook page, Mr Cairnie said: “Her health is still not great and she is passing blood in varying amounts.
“I can’t confirm what the vet did or didn’t do we can only trust that he did something.
“This to me could mean organ damage from the extreme dehydration she suffered before I got her so to lose her now would be the biggest bummer.“I will continue to push this non stop as I only have five days left in Iraq and after that I cannot answer to be honest.”
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