Pen Farthing had his life mapped out. When he finished his 20th year of service as a Royal Marine Commando, he would follow his passion to teach rock climbing and start a new career as a mountain guide.
But a battered, dock-eared dog that followed Farthing home after he rescued it from a fighting ring during his tour of duty in Now Zad, Afghanistan, sent Farthing on a different path. Inspired by that dog that he called “Nowzad,” Farthing founded Nowzad Dogs, a nonprofit organization that reunites soldiers with stray dogs and cats they adopted during combat.
Farthing will be the guest speaker at the 6th Annual Real Heroes Breakfast from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 13, at The McKinley at Huron Campus, Endicott. Hosted by the American Red Cross Southern Tier Chapter, the Real Heroes Breakfast celebrates the Red Cross mission of alleviating human suffering by recognizing residents from Broome, Chenango, and Tioga Counties who in the past year performed heroic acts in life-threatening situations.
