Saturday, September 6, 2014

Finding Housing For Military Dogs In South California

By Kerri Stout


Canine involvement with people in America is a national pass time. Nearly every family has at one time or another possessed a dog. Our troops are no exception to this rule and many have access to them on at least two levels. They often need to find someone to care for their pets while they are on deployment and many in combat zones are partnered with a working dog for protection. It is no surprise that there is a need for appropriate housing for military dogs in South California.

When unmarried military personnel receive orders of deployment finding a safe temporary home for their pet dog is imperative. Many are forced to give up the animal because they have no place to keep them and are faced with the possibility of the dog being put down because of this problem. Boarding the dog indefinitely is not an option because there is no way to know how long they will be gone and the cost is prohibitive.

In response to this dilemma agencies have sprung up that help soldiers find appropriate foster homes for their pets. Through internet bulletin board set ups the agencies help soldiers arrange for foster care with people who are willing and able to take in their dog while the soldier is gone. The owners are responsible for food and medical costs that may occur while the fostering family cares for the animal as it were their own.

Some of the agencies have ties to the armed forces and may restrict who can or cannot apply for the care but others are locally owned and operated. This service gives the troops sent into combat peace of mind about the well being of their animals at home. The other canines they encounter while deployed need a different type of caring home.

Canines are trained by the armed forces every year. They may send up to three hundred dogs into combat each year and they work to protect the troops they are assigned to. Their job entails finding explosives buried in the ground or hidden in buildings as well as finding arms that have been stashed or hidden for use by the enemy troops. Until recently these dogs were considered as excess equipment and were either abandoned or euthanized when they were no longer needed.

Agencies have been petitioning the armed forces to return these animals to the United States after they have served their country so well. If a soldier chose to bring his dog home with him for adoption the cost to him was well over fifteen hundred dollars. The government has since begun transporting them home at no cost to those adopting them.

Today adoptions of these animals by families wanting to provide a good home and peaceful retirement atmosphere are high. There is currently a six month waiting list for those wanting to adopt. The new owners are not advised of the type of service they performed while working with the soldiers.

Finding foster homes for the pets of soldiers deployed to combat and finding adoptive homes for our returning canine troops has become a calling for many agencies in this country. Tending to these brave animals and caring for the needs of the dog you have raised from a puppy is a perfect example of the integrity this country was built on.




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