Ken Wyrsch traveled to Northern Iraq earlier in 2016 to find a way to help after ISIS overtook parts of Iraq. Ken had served in the United States Armed Forces previously, but this time went on his own initiative, away from his everyday life, to volunteer. In the months Ken spent there he made friends with several dogs, including Oli, who eventually took a trip to the US to join Ken. Ken and Oli’s story went viral, and in today’s episode, Ken tells the rest of the story in greater detail.   Thank you to Ken Wyrsch for sharing his story and to SPCA International for reuniting Oli with Ken.   Website https://www.spcai.org Operation Baghdad Pups https://www.spcai.org/get-involved/military-support/obp-worldwide/ Donate https://donations.spcai.org/spcai/main.php/micro_sites/showpage?id=95 Facebook https://www.facebook.com/spcai/ Video of Ken and Oli’s reunion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjqxhhtn7RY   Note: Oli’s name was misspelled in the initial news reports that went viral, incorrectly as Ollie. Ken shortened the name Oliver to Oli.   If you want to join our animal rescue community and receive two free bonus dog-training resources from Irith Bloom, positive reinforcement dog trainer, go to http://thisispawprint.com/ask. Irith can be found at http://www.thesophisticateddog.com/   All of Pawprint's music is composed by Luke Gartner-Brereton. Luke is a musician based in Australia, and he composes a wide variety of songs and musical loops http://vanillagroovestudios.com http://soundcloud.com/luke-gartnerbrereton If you want to learn more about Nancy and Harold, go to our About Us page at http://thisispawprint.com/about or listen to our introductory podcast episode, "Fifty Puppies and a Podcast." http://thisispawprint.com/000 Pawprint (or Paw Print) is a weekly podcast dedicated to animal rescue, adoption, and the heroes who make it happen. Volunteer, walk, adopt, or foster a dog, cat, rabbit, or other wonderful pet through your local shelter, humane society, SPCA, pound, and animal control. Stop abuse, and help increase animal protection, welfare, and rights.  http://thisispawprint.com http://animalrescuepodcast.com