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Olympic hockey player David Backes brings home 2 pooches from Sochi

February 25, 2014 / 5:40 PM EST / CBS News

David Backes returned home from the 2014 games with two stray dogs that he named Sochi Junior and Sochi Jake

Olympic hockey player David Backes returns from Sochi with stray dogs 00:44

ST. LOUIS - Team USA Olympic hockey player David Backes and his wife returned home from the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, with two new furry friends.

The couple brought back two stray dogs from Sochi that kept showing up at the Olympic Village. Backes dubbed them Sochi Junior and Sochi Jake.

This is one of the two dogs David and Kelly Backes brought home from Sochi. He will be in quarantine for a month and then will be available for adoption. CBS News

Animal lovers were horrified by reports that Russian authorities were rounding up and killing hundreds of stray dogs in Sochi prior to the Olympics. That prompted local advocates to mount rescue efforts, and also inspired a number of Olympic attendees to try to adopt some of the homeless dogs.

When the Games ended, St. Louis Blues captain Backes and his wife Kelly, who started the charity Athletes for Animals, decided they couldn't leave their new canine friends behind. So they obtained the necessary paperwork and Sochi Junior and Sochi Jake flew home with them on Monday.

"These two lives aren't going to make a huge impact on the stray population of Sochi, we're well aware of that. But, the stories they can tell and the examples they can set for people is something that will be exponentially multiplied," Backes told reporters.

The two Sochi dogs will spend 30 days at the Five Acres Animals Shelter in St. Charles, Mo. During the quarantine period, veterinarians will make sure the dogs don't have any disease and will give them all the necessary shots. After that, they will be ready for adoption.

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