SCRANTON, Pa. -- From a tiny crate in Turkey to the United States, two dogs now have a chance at a better life thanks to some folks in our area.
Thor and Reed just made the 16-hour flight in a small crate from Turkey to the United States. The pair lived a rough life on the streets in Istanbul until a miracle happened.
Their lives were really bad. They're beaten, tormented, starving, fighting for food with cats and other animals," said Dawn Karam.
A New York City resident contacted Adopt A Boxer Rescue President Dawn Karam in November after seeing Thor while in Turkey.
"We never turn a boxer away, no matter where they are," Karam said.
But the rescue didn't stop with just the boxer.
"When you fly a dog over, you can take two on the plane and she showed me some of the other dogs that they had there."
So Dawn contacted Friends with Paws Rescue in Scranton to save another and they picked Reed, a Belgian tiger Malinois mix, to join in on the lifesaving trek.
"One of the assistants to the president in Washington, D.C., their daughter flew the two of them over with her on Sunday."
Since Sunday, Thor and Reed are acclimating to the temperature change and getting used to the language,
Thor won't be available for adoption for another month or so because he's getting treated for a skin condition, but 9-month-old Reed is ready to roll into a home.
"He's going to be at the pet expo at the Steamtown Mall on Saturday with some of our volunteers for a little while," said Clara Cammerota, Friends with Paws Pet Rescue.
The hope is to continue saving these dogs because they don't have much of a chance in Turkey.
"We're hoping to do this because it was a great experience," Karam added.