LONDON, England (CNN) -- His life has never been easy. Born into poverty and war, his ears and tail were chopped off when he was just a few months old in preparation for dog-fighting. He escaped to find a better life, only to be trapped in lonely, sterile quarantine for six months.





Bear plays for the first time out of quarantine after coming to Britain from Afghanistan.





But all that changed Monday when Bear the dog stepped out of British quarantine and through the doors of a London animal shelter.





"He's absolutely a loving dog," said former British Royal Marine Paul "Penny" Farthing, who helped bring Bear to England. "He just loves people. It's a good thing he was brought back to the U.K. when he was quite young, so he's never gone through having to fend for himself in the street and be made to dogfight."





An unknown soldier in Afghanistan first found Bear last year and brought him to a local Afghan animal shelter. The shelter wasn't able to care for Bear, so it contacted Farthing, who now runs a charity for stray and abandoned animals, primarily dogs from Afghanistan. Farthing's Nowzad Dogs is named for the Afghan town where he was based for a few months in 2006. He asked Mayhew International, an arm of London's Mayhew Animal Home, to help find Bear a new home.





Mayhew International says Bear is one of the few dogs it has brought back to Britain. Usually it tries to find animals new homes within their own countries.





"Although Mayhew International does not encourage people to bring dogs to the U.K. from abroad as a general policy, we made an exception in this case as it was the perfect opportunity to highlight the plight of thousands of stray animals in Afghanistan," the organization said in a statement.





Bear's story may be unique, but he is certainly not alone. Mayhew International, which works around the world to educate people about animal welfare, says there are countless dogs in Afghanistan that are homeless or trapped in a life of dogfighting -- an increasingly popular pastime in Afghanistan.





"Animal welfare is not looked so highly upon in Afghanistan," said Christopher Sainsbury, Mayhew's international projects officer.





"In war-torn areas, people tend to forget the animal welfare side of things. [We want to] make people aware that this is a key side of things that needs to be assessed, needs to be worked on."





Bear is a Koochi dog, a large breed common in Afghanistan, according to Dr. Mohammadzai Abduljalil, a Mayhew veterinarian from Afghanistan. While no one knows Bear's exact age, Abduljalil said they believe he is just about a year old.





You wouldn't know it by Bear's size. He's already a large dog nearly 3 feet high with large paws to match.





Stepping into the Mayhew play area Monday for the first time, Bear made sure to sniff every corner of the room and mark his territory a few times before settling in to play. He had a puppy's curiosity and quickly started playing fetch and tug-of-war with Farthing, wagging enthusiastically the small part of his tail which is left.





Bear is lucky. He escaped a violent and uncertain future in Afghanistan.  Not so for many other dogs left behind. It is those dogs that Farthing hopes to help with his charity.





"They need someone to look after them, so why not me?" Farthing said.





It began when the Royal Marines arrived in the war-torn town of Now Zad, in Afghanistan's Helmand province, in October 2006. They found stray dogs wandering the streets, scavenging for food, dodging bullets and seeking shelter from the hot days and cold nights. Many were also being used for dogfighting, with their ears and tails docked to make the fights last longer and give their opponents less to bite.





Farthing and other Marines began to feed and care for a few dogs that wandered into their camp. At first they had three dogs, but other strays soon figured out the
LONDON , England ( CNN ) -- His life has never been easy . Born into poverty and war , his ears and tail were chopped off when he was just a few months old in preparation for dog - fighting . He escaped to find a better life , only to be trapped in lonely , sterile quarantine for six months . Bear plays for the first time out of quarantine after coming to Britain from Afghanistan . But all that changed Monday when Bear the dog stepped out of British quarantine and through the doors of a London animal shelter . " He 's absolutely a loving dog , " said former British Royal Marine Paul " Penny " Farthing , who helped bring Bear to England . " He just loves people . It 's a good thing he was brought back to the U.K. when he was quite young , so he 's never gone through having to fend for himself in the street and be made to dogfight . " An unknown soldier in Afghanistan first found Bear last year and brought him to a local Afghan animal shelter . The shelter was n't able to care for Bear , so it contacted Farthing , who now runs a charity for stray and abandoned animals , primarily dogs from Afghanistan . Farthing 's Nowzad Dogs is named for the Afghan town where he was based for a few months in 2006 . He asked Mayhew International , an arm of London 's Mayhew Animal Home , to help find Bear a new home . Mayhew International says Bear is one of the few dogs it has brought back to Britain . Usually it tries to find animals new homes within their own countries . " Although Mayhew International does not encourage people to bring dogs to the U.K. from abroad as a general policy , we made an exception in this case as it was the perfect opportunity to highlight the plight of thousands of stray animals in Afghanistan , " the organization said in a statement . Bear 's story may be unique , but he is certainly not alone . Mayhew International , which works around the world to educate people about animal welfare , says there are countless dogs in Afghanistan that are homeless or trapped in a life of dogfighting -- an increasingly popular pastime in Afghanistan . " Animal welfare is not looked so highly upon in Afghanistan , " said Christopher Sainsbury , Mayhew 's international projects officer . " In war - torn areas , people tend to forget the animal welfare side of things . [ We want to ] make people aware that this is a key side of things that needs to be assessed , needs to be worked on . " Bear is a Koochi dog , a large breed common in Afghanistan , according to Dr. Mohammadzai Abduljalil , a Mayhew veterinarian from Afghanistan . While no one knows Bear 's exact age , Abduljalil said they believe he is just about a year old . You would n't know it by Bear 's size . He 's already a large dog nearly 3 feet high with large paws to match . Stepping into the Mayhew play area Monday for the first time , Bear made sure to sniff every corner of the room and mark his territory a few times before settling in to play . He had a puppy 's curiosity and quickly started playing fetch and tug - of - war with Farthing , wagging enthusiastically the small part of his tail which is left . Bear is lucky . He escaped a violent and uncertain future in Afghanistan . Not so for many other dogs left behind . It is those dogs that Farthing hopes to help with his charity . " They need someone to look after them , so why not me ? " Farthing said . It began when the Royal Marines arrived in the war - torn town of Now Zad , in Afghanistan 's Helmand province , in October 2006 . They found stray dogs wandering the streets , scavenging for food , dodging bullets and seeking shelter from the hot days and cold nights . Many were also being used for dogfighting , with their ears and tails docked to make the fights last longer and give their opponents less to bite . Farthing and other Marines began to feed and care for a few dogs that wandered into their camp . At first they had three dogs , but other strays soon figured out the
Who found Bear?
Who found Bear ?
unknown soldier
unknown soldier