Ten loveable mutts rescued from the streets of Sochi , Russia , arrived in the United States for adoption Thursday , the result of an international outcry over the plight of stray dogs in the 2014 Winter Olympics host city , organizers said . Sochi animal rescue organizations began bringing in dogs from the streets after reports that they were getting rounded up and poisoned circulated around the Games . At the time , American skier Gus Kenworthy , an Olympic silver medalist , made headlines when he pledged to bring four street dogs back to the United States after the Games . Humane Society International worked both on Kenworthy 's project and bringing these 10 dogs to the United States . `` These 10 are representative of some of the dogs that have been removed from the streets and are now up for adoption in Sochi , '' said Kelly O'Meara , director of HSI companion animals and engagement . `` They 're the sweetest , most interactive , very friendly dogs , very adoptable that just happen to be unfortunate enough to be living on the street . '' The group worked with PovoDog Animal Shelter in Sochi and two other organizations to arrange vaccination , documentation and travel for the dogs , who then spent two days in transit . `` These dogs have had a tremendous journey . It 's been almost two days of travel for them . They went from Sochi to Moscow , had a long layover in Moscow , and then the flight to Dulles airport today , '' O'Meara said . `` And as you can tell , they have to be pretty chill to handle it like this . And they did . They all did remarkably well . '' The dogs will be housed for the time being in the Washington Animal Rescue League facilities in the nation 's capital . Bob Ramin , CEO of the animal league , said the next few days are all about comfort for the animals . `` These animals are seeing a lot of new things and experiencing a lot of new things , so they 're kind of stressed out , '' Ramin said . `` We want to make sure they know they 're in a safe place so we 've got our staff working with them one on one . '' Each dog will get a medical evaluation . If all goes well , the dogs could be available for adoption within weeks . `` In the next couple of days , we 'll start socializing them , taking them out on walks with other dogs , and really just treating them like other dogs so they can have that socialization and feel safe , '' Ramin said . Organizers say that they expect a great deal of interest in these dogs because the public outcry before , during and after the Games . More dogs are expected to arrive in the United States for adoption in the coming days .
Reports of stray dogs being killed in Sochi , Russia , before the Olympics fueled public outrage . American skier and silver medalist Chris Kenworthy made the cause famous . Ten dogs from Russia are in Washington and will be available for adoption soon .