Phil Sands is Syria correspondent for The National, an English language daily newspaper based in Abu Dhabi. He was living in Damascus when the uprising began in March of 2011, and has continued reporting on the escalation of the rebellion and civil war in the two years since. Earlier this year, Phil returned to the US with a pair of unlikely refugees – two dogs, saved from the war-torn streets of the Syrian capital. He sat down with Virginia Prescott this past February to talk about the puppies, which he called Mr. Brown and Mr. White.

Phil spoke with us from his current post in Istanbul and provided a quick update on the puppies.