Mine detection dogs ready for adoption

(CNN) - They saved countless lives in Iraq, now five land mine detection dogs are back in the U.S. and ready to start retirement.

The goal is to enable them to spend their golden years in homes where they can be pampered.

The dogs are provided to Iraq and other conflict-torn countries through an organization called The Marshall Legacy Institute .

"We provide the dogs to sniff out land mines so that it's safe for the children to play, for people to work, for animals to live and for communities to grow," said Perry Baltimore, Marshall Legacy Institute.

There are some 170 dogs that have been trained and deployed by the Institute. Typically, handlers bond with their dogs and adopt them upon retirement, but that's not possible for Iraqi dog handlers.

"In Iraqi culture, dogs are not recognized as pets," explained Terri Crisp with SPCA International.

So, SPCA International is stepping in to help, through their Operation Baghdad Pups program. They transported the five shepherds back to the U.S. and are now working to find them adoptive homes.

"For the service that they have provided to Americans it's only fair that they get the royal treatment for their retirement and that's what we're all aiming to do is to get them into great homes where they're just going to get to do whatever they want," said Crisp.

The SPCA International specializes in assisting animals in areas of conflict and disaster.

To learn more about adopting these animals, click here.