Dying Pets
Maybe someones looking for a new pet
.....
Maybe someones looking for a new pet
.....Posted on Sun, Apr. 10, 2005
Dogs of War - Army town struggles to save pets left by troops
RUSS BYNUM
Associated Press
HINESVILLE, Ga. - The 32 dogs look up with sad eyes or wag their tails as animal control officer Linda Cordry walks the row of chain-link cages ending in a door concealing a gas chamber that resembles a large oven.
"These guys are mine," Cordry says with weary resignation. "These are basically on Death Row."
Liberty County Animal Control and the humane shelter that shares its small cinderblock building have been crammed to capacity with dogs and cats since Army troops from neighboring Fort Stewart deployed to Iraq. Both agencies say it's no coincidence.
"I would say 95 percent of these animals come from military homes," says Beate Hall, who runs the humane shelter where dozens of soldiers and Army spouses began dumping pets during the holidays.
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have prompted national efforts to alert deploying soldiers to alternatives to abandoning animals when they leave for war. But the hundreds of unwanted pets turning up in this southeast Georgia military town indicate many aren't getting the message.
Since the Fort Stewart-based 3rd Infantry Division deployed 19,000 troops to Iraq in January, animal control officers took in 321 abandoned dogs and cats. Of those, 119 have been euthanized.
Smells of dank fur, urine and bleach linger inside the Animal Control offices, where donated food in dented cans and torn bags are stacked in a corner. Dogs are doubled up in several of the 4-by-10-feet cages that allow some room for running. None are empty. Neither are the 14 cat cages, two of which hold mothers with litters of nursing kittens.
Cordry says she's found an abundance of dogs in predominantly military neighborhoods - from emaciated dogs in back yards of vacated homes to puppies left in Dumpsters.
She says many of the abandoned pets she finds are wearing collars, but with their tags removed. Animals with collars get up to 10 days before they're euthanized. Those without collars are spared for only three days.
"We get in so many with personalities, we know they had to belong to somebody," Cordry says. "It's hard to say, `Today's euthanasia day - let's load them up and go for it.'"
In Hall's case, soldiers and their families have come to the humane shelter in person to leave their dogs and cats. Those pets won't be put down, but Hall only has room to keep 45 animals at a time. Though Hall has found homes for 118 pets since January, the shelter remains full.
"We didn't realize how bad it was going to be," says Hall, whose husband is retired from the Army. "I didn't think this many military families would just dispose of their animals because of the deployment."
In some cases, single soldiers leave their pets because they have no one to keep them at home. Many animals are given up by spouses planning to stay with family while their soldiers are deployed.
"The wives go back home and their parents say, `No, you're not bringing the cat,' or, `I don't want the dog here,'" Hall says. "This is supposed to be a last resort. I can only take so many animals."
Animal rescue groups say they've put a serious dent in wartime pet dumping, largely by using the Internet to find foster homes to care for soldiers' animals until they return home.
Steve Albin, president of the nonprofit NetPets, says he's found temporary homes for 8,000 military pets nationwide since starting his Military Pets Foster Program after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He believes organizations like his have stopped most deployment dumpings.
"This is not rampant, where a shelter winds up being overwhelmed," says Albin, a retired dog breeder in North Myrtle Beach, S.C. "Even though this is available, there's still the 5 percent of the military, they say, `Nah, we'll get another pet when we get back.'"
Fort Stewart veterinarian Capt. Karen O'Connor, who has taken in about 25 pets at the post's small shelter since the deployment, says many Army families giving up pets aren't being callous, but are overwhelmed by stress.
"A lot of times when people come into my clinic and want to turn an animal over, it's not easy for them," O'Connor says. "There are tears involved. There's an attachment there."
In the Fort Stewart area, a small number of pet lovers have stepped up to foster dogs and cats that otherwise would have been euthanized by animal control.
Terry Wolf of nearby Savannah has taken in 85 abandoned dogs from Liberty County since January through her shelter, Southern Comfort Animal Rescue.
After clocking out from her public relations job, Wolf spends most of her time posting the pets' photos and information on the Internet and exchanging e-mail with potential adopters. She's found permanent homes for about 40, and foster homes for 25.
Wolf can be picky when adopting her animals. She says she's looking for people who truly want a pet, rather than those seeking to make a patriotic gesture.
"I had one lady, she was very interested in a dog, say to me, `I want a soldier's dog. And that made me question her commitment,'" Wolf says. "We're not putting yellow ribbons around their necks here. They're all dogs of war to me."
Michelle Dombrowski of Hinesville says she's been "cleaning my carpet every night" after rescuing eight dogs and eight cats - including a pregnant Siamese - from animal control.
She also has two young daughters, four dogs and seven cats of her own to care for while her husband, Staff Sgt. Joe Dombrowski, is in Iraq with the 3rd Infantry for his second tour since 2003.
"It irritates me because we knew last year that we were deploying, so these soldiers have had ample time to find homes and take care of their animals," Dombrowski says. "I didn't pay attention during the war to really see what was going on. It just blows my mind."
While rescuers such as Dombrowski and Wolf have saved many of the abandoned pets, Cordry worries they're running out of room. And while Hall has seen steady pet adoptions, it's not enough to keep up with the influx.
"We just took in five today," Hall says, "and adopted out zero."
ON THE NET
Liberty Humane Shelter
http://www.petfinder.org/shelters/GA21.html
Southern Comfort Animal Rescue
http://www.southerncomfort.petfinder.com
Military Pets Foster Project
http://www.netpets.org/militarypet/foster.php
