Decorated veteran, military working dog handler who served in Afghanistan has 'a lot of questions' about exit

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Pentagon's John Kirby grilled about Biden's broken promise to evacuate every American

Retired Air Force Maj. Sam Peters on Tuesday said the Pentagon needs to answer "a lot of questions" regarding its withdrawal efforts, including reports of contracted military K-9s stranded at the Kabul airport, which the DoD has denied.

The Nevada congressional candidate and Bronze Star recipient who worked as a military working dog handler said that while he's "hopeful that, in fact, the U.S. military did not leave military working dogs behind, as is being reported and pictured," the Pentagon's denial that they left any military dogs behind in the country is not "passing the smell test."

"There are a lot of questions that are surrounding this withdrawal that need to be answered," Peters, who served in Afghanistan, told Fox News in an interview. 

Retired Air Force Maj. Sam Peters on Tuesday said the Pentagon needs to answer "a lot of questions" regarding its withdrawal efforts, including reports of stranded military K9s, which the DoD has denied. (Credit: Sam Peters) (Sam Peters)

He added that because the "Kabul airport was the final fallback point for the U.S. military in Afghanistan," and because the military is "not denying the fact that these animals were pictured at the Kabul airport," he wonders how it was "possible to set up a small animal shelter" at the airport while U.S. citizens were having difficulty just making it to the gate.

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Photos posted to social media over the weekend appeared to show dogs in cages at the Kabul airport, and the nonprofit organization Veteran Sheepdogs of America told TMZ on Monday it was continuing to help evacuate dozens of contracted military working dogs from the country.

"To correct erroneous reports, the U.S. military did not leave any dogs in cages at Hamid Karzai International Airport, including the reported military working dogs," DOD spokesman John Kirby said in a Tuesday statement. "Photos circulating online were animals under the care of the Kabul Small Animal Rescue, not dogs under our care."

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Joshua Holser, founder of Veteran Sheepdogs of America, said he hoped to rescue the dogs by raising $1.67 million – the cost for a 737 plane out of Kabul, the TMZ reported. 

The nonprofit said in an early Tuesday tweet that "51 contracted military working dogs are safe & being cared for in their crates."

Retired Air Force Maj. Sam Peters on Tuesday said the Pentagon needs to answer "a lot of questions" regarding its withdrawal efforts, including reports of stranded military K9s, which the DoD has denied. (Credit: Sam Peters)

"There's false information that we are a ‘scam’ that is the FARTHEST from the truth!" the organization tweeted early Monday. "We have 51 working dogs with our people that we were given the responsibility to get them out of Kabul. This IS happening!"

On Monday evening, the Pentagon announced that all U.S. troops have departed Afghanistan. The final C-17 carrying service members lifted off from the airport at 3:29 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time. The removal of U.S. troops met the Aug. 31 deadline the Biden administration agreed to with the Taliban — officially ending America’s longest war.

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But Peters believes the war is far from over.

"This war has been emboldened by this administration for the Taliban and those that want to bring harm to U.S. citizens, not only in Afghanistan but across the world," the retired Air Force veteran said. "When I watched [Marine Corps] Gen. [Kenneth] McKenzie yesterday, he was almost giddy in his speech to tell reporters the last U.S. troop had left Afghanistan. You don't applaud yourself for partially solving a problem that you've created."

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He added that knowing "$85 billion worth of U.S. resources were left behind in the hands of our enemies," he finds the promise that the DoD did not leave any working dogs behind "hard to swallow." 

Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. said Monday that the last remaining U.S. troops in Kabul have left Afghanistan, likely leaving hundreds of Americans behind. White House press secretary Jen Psaki earlier on Monday did not have a specific estimate for the exact number of Americans left behind, though a senior State Department official placed the total at "below 250."

Fox News' David Aaro contributed to this report.