VANCOUVER, British Columbia – David Backes went to Sochi hoping to bring home a gold medal with the U.S. hockey team. Instead, the St. Louis Blues' captain brought back a couple of stray puppies.
Backes and his wife, Kelly, rescued the dogs from the streets of the Olympic city with members of the Canadian team's entourage. Now in quarantine in St. Louis, the dogs will eventually be given to good homes.
Backes said he and his wife did not originally intend to bring any animals back. They were hoping to create awareness about shelters that have been set up in Sochi to help hundreds of stray dogs that received international media attention.
Backes and his wife, who have four rescue dogs and two rescue cats in their home, received help from Canadian winger Jeff Carter's girlfriend, Megan Keffer, and defenseman Drew Doughty's girlfriend, Nicole Arruda, and others.
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