Edward’s not-so-excellent adventure

Despite the best efforts of many parties involved, a shelter dog who was trained for service and donated by inmates in a restorative justice program in Missouri turned out to be a less-than-perfect fit for one of our veterans. Edward was a once-homeless dog who, while in the care of the The Animal Shelter of Texas County (TASTC) in Houston, Missouri, entered their Healing Paws program – a collaboration with the state’s innovative efforts to train shelter pets throughout their prison system. He was flown to Arizona for what everyone hoped would be a productive and fulfilling life as a service dog for a disabled veteran. 

By Friday, May 11 it was clear that the veteran and Edward would part ways. For perfectly legitimate reasons the veteran was unable to foster Edward while we worked with TASTC to rehome the dog responsibly. We had little time to get Edward someplace safe where we could work on a plan.

University Animal Hospital saves the day…and the dog

We called the hospital manager at University Animal Hospital in Tempe, our local veterinary partner. As part of our program, they offer an ongoing 10% discount to veterans and service members in our program who adopt and eligible dog or cat from our area shelter partners. The hospital has been in the Tempe community for 50 years and we asked if they would help us find an individual or organization that would be great for Edward. They did better. 

Without hesitation, University Animal Hospital offered to board Edward free of charge – to give him the security and space he needed while we searched for a forever home. As if that were not enough, they promised to network Edward among their considerable contacts within the community, amplifying our efforts to get him one step closer to a new family.

This is the true meaning of a partner. It’s not about the words; it’s about the deeds.

Friends across the miles

Our window of opportunity to help Edward was small and we aimed to have more than one potential plan in place, not knowing at the time which would work and which would fall through. With that in mind we contacted Canines With a Cause (CWAC) in Salt Lake City. Through their innovative train-the-trainer program, they have placed several rescued dogs with veterans in our program. We knew they acquired most of their animals from kill shelters – even in other states – and called to see if they could help. 

Their director was very interested in an already trained service dog since many of the veterans who adopt through CWAC need service animals. Immediately, CWAC put out calls to their volunteer transport network to organize a possible ‘road trip’ for Edward from Arizona to Utah.

Edward finds a new ‘best friend’

Not long after contacting CWAC, we received a call from Soldier’s Best Friend in Arizona; they had been referred to us by University Animal Hospital. The not-for-profit organization trains service dogs for disabled veterans and was interested to meet Edward. We spoke at length about our mutual interests to get Edward into a home setting where he could decompress and de-stress, and ultimately be evaluated for their program. TASTC was on board with the plan; now we just had to get Edward to neutral territory.

The veteran’s wife dropped Edward off at University Animal Hospital on the morning of May 12, with all of his records, training instructions and – of course! – his toys, including several they purchased for their older dog, but that Edward “adopted” as his own. The hospital donated his Bordatella shot, noticing that he was slightly overdue.

Edward then became perhaps the shortest-term kennel resident ever.

We contacted Soldier’s Best Friend to let them know that Edward was available for evaluation. Within an hour, Edward was picked up from University Animal Hospital and on his way to a foster home, where he’ll spend the next few weeks adjusting to a home setting. His foster mother is a wheelchair user with her own service dog, trained through Soldier’s Best Friend, who will help Edward achieve his ultimate potential: to serve a disabled veteran.

None of this would have been possible if University Animal Hospital had not offered to give Edward a safe haven, no less for free. Their generosity instantly provided the stability, safety and time for all of us to develop a plan for Edward that was in his best interests. We’re certain that if he could talk he would thank his friends at the hospital, but since he can’t, we will: thank you, University Animal Hospital, for demonstrating the true meaning of partnership.

P.S. Edward is doing well! At his first-ever visit to a dog park, after about 45 minutes of sticking to himself, he discovered he could run. As his foster mother said, “Pure delight on paws…he just ran like he’d never dreamed such a thing existed.”

***

From battlefield to homefront

I have been a dog lover all of my life.

I remember almost every dog that ever followed me home from my paper route as a kid to the brave K-9 Marines I crossed paths with in Afghanistan. I currently live in Utah and do marketing for a large physician pain practice. I do have to say: I am a bit of a private person and hope that you understand that I really want to focus on dogs and their impact on combat veterans who continue to carry a pack well after the rounds have stopped flying. 

Haas, ever diligent

I have spent over 20 years in the military, from starting out as an enlisted soldier in the Army to a Major in the United States Marine Corps. I have done multiple combat tours while serving in the Marines including Iraq, the South Pacific and Afghanistan. With all the time I have spent in the military, I do have to say that the core of our military might is not from the generals or colonels: it feeds from the enlisted Marines, soldiers, sailors and airmen. They sacrifice so much to bring our nation’s might to bear on foreign soil and usually end up paying the price of carrying the heavy burden of multiple combat tours, returning to home feeling out of place or distant from family and friends who once had so much in common with them.

Leadership earned, not given

I can tell you from the officer perspective that you do not ‘fall-in’ to your very first platoon and have immediate respect from those Marines.

You have to earn it, although there are some who would argue that the rank you wear on collar should demand this from day one. This is not true; the Marines need to know you will do everything in your power to not only reward them, but also drive them to do their best and correct them in a professional manner when they need it. Once they know that you have ‘their back’ they will run to gunfire to do their duty under your leadership, and this has never changed.

A dog to help carry the burdens of war… and a legacy

I knew that dogs got me through tough times in the past and that this ‘weight’ that I carry around these days could be eased with another beautiful Australian Shepherd. I had a dog already that, simply put, is amazing. Haas will turn 16 this August and I wanted to somehow carry on his legacy. He has had some setbacks with a stroke, vestibular disease, blindness, deafness and just getting old, but he carries on every day, rain or shine. We could learn a lot from his dedication and loyalty. Now Javi-Lynn will learn from him and inspire me while doing it. 

Jason and Javi Lynn go fly fishing

[Javi-Lynn honorably adopted Jason through our partnership with the Utah Animal Adoption Center in Salt Lake City, where members of our program receive a 50% adoption fee discount, bag of pet food and slip leash collar.]

As Haas is now older, he can only be groomed at a veterinarian’s office. When I dropped him off for the first time after I returned from Afghanistan I saw the Pets for Patriots flyer.

I had heard about Pets for Patriots before, but it just hit me that day: this is something I need to do for myself. I stared at the flyer for several weeks even before I logged onto the website. Then slowly I began my search, and then one day I saw a picture of Javi (at that time, Zelda) and knew that she was ‘the one.’

Javi is young and full of energy. We had the usual occurrences of chewed up shoes, books, etc. For some reason, this did not bother me at all. I knew that was just a starting point to begin to train and spend time with her. I knew she would give me back just as much and more, and in turn would ask very little from me. She sleeps on the bed with me and knows when it is time to get up and start my day. She runs wild for some time then settles down as I prepare for the day, and casually goes into her kennel on her own when I emerge fully dressed and ready to go.

She makes me smile every morning and somehow knows that I changed her life for the better, much like she has changed mine. She is my dog and loves my daughter, but at the end of the day she knows that her job is to be at my side.

I can’t convey how much this has improved my life.

Javi Lynn and Haas on post

I know that my Haas dog will one day very soon will leave my side and join all those other dogs who have impacted my life, from childhood to adulthood, but now he can do it knowing that I will be taken care of for many years to come. I see this in his eyes every day. Although blind, his wisdom is still expressed in the dark eyes that once tracked tennis balls, frisbees and wildlife as they flew through the air. 

A combat veteran speaks from the heart

You deserve this.

I know that many of the veterans think that this is not for them, but this is exactly what you need. This is not a charity; it is a compassionate organization that truly believes in the power of pets and how perfectly they fit into a veteran’s life who still carries the pack.

A pet can help ease the burden, share in pain and heal wounds that my not have a visible scar.

I highly recommend adopting a pet through Pets for Patriots; it can improve and even change your life. Never a judgment, they [pets] can listen for hours, give you that look that tells you everything is going to be all right.

 How does your pet make your life a little better each day?

This month marks the one year anniversary of SEAL Team Six’s raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan. Perhaps no single member of the elite commando team has generated more fascination than Cairo, a military working dog who accompanied the SEALs on this mission.

A proud legacy of service

Pfc. Hester, 7th War Dog Platoon, 25th Reg. and Butch; February 1945. SSG M. Kauffman.

For nearly a century, America’s military has put canines to work. During World War I, German and France trained an estimated 50,000 dogs to act as sentries, messengers and ammunition carriers, and to tend to casualties on the battlefield. When American Expeditionary Forces landed in Europe late in the war, they borrowed similarly trained dogs from British and Belgian forces.

The United States’ own war dog effort got its official start shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Before the U.S. was drawn into World War II, an influential group of professional American dog breeders formed the organization Dogs for Defense to procure and train war dogs for U.S. military use, should the need ever arise. The dogs were trained primarily for sentry duty, and started their service at Quartermaster installations on the West Coast.

In November 1942, the dogs were tested on the battlefield in North Africa and proved their worth. On the battle lines, canine sentries were considered more alert and responsive than their human handlers. One commanding officer remarked that when bases were blacked out at night, a single human sentry with a trained dog was just as effective as two human sentries on duty.

After North Africa, the U.S. military’s demand for war dogs exploded. By July 1943, over 11,000 war dogs were procured, mostly through the Dogs for Defense organization.

Vietnam presses MWDs back into action

After World War II the war dog program shrank considerably and most dogs returned stateside. The Air Force began using sentry dogs in Europe and the Pacific for peacetime duty. The Army used some MWDs during the Korean War, for sentry and patrol duty. On patrol in Korea, the dog and its handler walked ahead, while the patrol followed behind to provide protection. Once the dog alerted to the possible presence of the enemy, the dog and handler were sent to the rear lest they became combat casualties.

U.S. Air Force. Senior Airman Elizabeth Rissmiller.

MWDs were called back to active duty during the Vietnam War. Between 1965 and 1973, over 4,500 MWDs served in Vietnam. Once again, MWDs proved their worth. They were deployed primarily at night, when their senses are far more acute than those of humans, alerting to the enemy before the enemy could endanger U.S. assets or soldiers’ lives.

As threats to national security changed, so evolved the use of MWDs to combat those threats. With the rise in drug trafficking in the late 1960’s, MWDs were trained and used for narcotics detection. Then, following the example of the British who were in conflict in Northern Ireland, America’s military began training MWDs for bomb detection in 1971.

The post-9/11 military working dog

The events of September 11, 2001 jettisoned MWD responsibilities to a whole new level of sophistication. In addition to narcotics and bombs, MWDs were trained to detect the mines and IEDs scattered across Iraq and Afghanistan. Some MWDs, called “CTDs” for Combat Tracker Dogs, were trained to not only sniff out explosives and weapons, but to track the humans who left behind those IEDs or weapons as well.

Tech Sgt. Manual J. Martinez, U.S. Air Force/DoD

Finally there are the MPCs, or Multi-Purpose Canines – the Cairos of America’s military. These explosive-sniffing and tracking MWDs can be dropped out of aircraft, outfitted with tactical vests and/or night-vision cameras. MPCs are stealth dogs; as Air Force Master Sgt. Antonio Rodriguez, an MWD training supervisor, notes: “They can do all this and pursue a bad guy through a wall of fire and tear you to pieces if they need to.” 

Today there are over 2,700 MWDs in the U.S. military serving worldwide. The MWDs’ contribution to the efficacy of America’s military has earned the respect of the highest levels of command. According to CIA Director and Four Star General David Petraeus, “the capability they bring to the fight cannot be replicated by man or machine.”

***

My name is Matthew Goschke; I’m born and raised in Rochester, New York. I’ve lived here my whole life besides my experiences with the military. I currently run security for the City of Rochester, loss prevention for The Home Depot and am pursuing my paramedic degree. After my military service I found integrating back into civilian life a lot more difficult then I had anticipated.

Light at the end of a “very dark” road

I was discharged from the Army honorably for PTSD and depression, which are results of my military time in service. It’s a terrible thing to have to deal with and the road I was on was a very dark one. I felt as if no one truly understood what I was going through. I started missing sleep, social life and work because of what was going on in my mind.

A good friend of mine recommended possibly getting a pet as a companion to help take my mind off things. I took her advice and went to my local shelter in Rochester. At this time not only was I dealing with my medical issues, I was going through a terrible divorce where I pretty much lost everything.

Since my adoption my life has done a complete 360. I couldn’t be happier. I was told by my grandmother “everything happens for a reason;” this is an exact example of that.

People are sometimes weirded out by the connection my dog and I have. I just know it’s the realest thing I’ve ever felt. Might not make sense because I can’t put a word on it, but bear with me here!

A dream fulfilled, then PTSD and depression

I joined the military in 2007 as a diver, but re-classed to what was my life long dream: to be a military police officer. I was honorably discharged from the Army for PTSD and depression due to events during my time of service. Since I can remember, the only thing I’ve ever wanted was to serve my country and be in the armed forces. I followed my dream.

Finding it hard to cope with my PTSD and depression, I had been to countless doctors and put on countless meds that I couldn’t even spell to save my life. Nothing seemed to work at all. After a friend of mine put the idea out there about a pet, I thought: it couldn’t hurt; I had tried it all.

I went to the Lollypop Farm shelter in Rochester. When I arrived it was the first time I had heard of the Pets for Patriots program and thought it would be great!

 A one-eyed dog becomes a “symbol of hope”

Words cannot express how much my dog has changed my life. I shouldn’t say changed – I should say SAVED.

I saw no good end in sight until I met Tia, who I renamed Eli (she didnt seem to mind). She was in a bad spot just as I was: she was abused, starved, made to fight, had scars, lost her eye and even was electrocuted. She was a symbol hope for me.

This dog had been through all of these unthinkable events and was still as happy as could be. She is my motivation. My CURE. My life.

She is now my ESA (Emotional Support Animal). I’m off virtually all medications and Eli is actually prescribed to me by my doctor. She is my miracle.

She’s extremely funny; with only one eye she constantly runs into things and chases her tail (though only from one side). She’s gentle, protective, loyal, trustworthy and everything I wish I can be and display the rest of my life. 

 ***

When asked what he would tell other veterans who might be thinking about adopting a last-chance pet through Pets for Patriots, Matthew says, “Simply to DO IT!”

In what ways has your pet been your personal miracle?

Of the many birthday letters and cards we received  in celebration of our favorite WWII B-17 belly gunner’s 92nd birthday was a set of three cards, each with many signatures. Included in one of the envelopes was a hand-written note on looseleaf paper from a man representing the group, explaining what these cards were all about. We were so touched by this note and the sentiment behind the cards that we’re reprinting the prisoner’s note in full, though leaving out his last name.

***

Charles,

Dear Sir,

I hope and pray this letter reaches you in good health and spirits. It is both an honor and privilege to send you a birthday card and express gratitude to a WWII veteran. Thank you for our freedom. I don’t take it for granted.

You may be curious about all the signatures from the CRCTC cards from Mills, Wyoming. We are a group of men in a prison drug and alcohol treatment center that are trying to change our lives and be better men for our families and communities. Your story inspired us to strive more to do exactly that, try to be better.

Thank you so much. You don’t know how grateful we are. Happy birthday, Charles and G-d bless you.

Sincerely,

Joseph

“We feel very fortunate to have entered into this partnership to help a cause near and dear to our hearts – pets and patriots,” says Frank Chiera, vice president of marketing at Flooring America. “With the help of our customers, we hope to raise in excess of $250,000 to support this amazing organization.”

Flooring America teamed up with Pets for Patriots because the organization’s mission is well-aligned with the core values of its independent retailers – a commitment to community, patriotism and giving back to those who served and are serving our country. Donors can visit their local Flooring America store to make a contribution or give at www.petsforpatriots.org; 100 percent of all donations will go directly to Pets for Patriots.

“We’re honored to have the support of an outstanding partner that shares our values and sense of duty,” says Beth Zimmerman, founder and executive director of Pets for Patriots. “Their financial commitment will allow us to deliver the transformative power of companion pets to even more more military personnel, uplifting and saving the lives of both pet and person.”

Pets for Patriots makes companion pet adoption an affordable reality for veterans and service members by reducing the financial costs associated with pet ownership. The charity partners with veterinarians in the communities it serves to deliver an ongoing discount for the care of any dog or cat honorably adopted through the charity’s shelter partner network. In addition, Pets for Patriots provides direct contributions to a virtual veteran’s pet food bank for each adopter to help with the purchase of food and other pet essentials.

To learn more about the partnership or where to find a Flooring America store, visit www.flooringamerica.com.

About Pets for Patriots

Pets for Patriots, Inc., is a registered 501(c)(3) charity that supports our troops and veterans through the power of companion pets. It connects adult and other at-risk shelter animals with service and veteran members of the United States military, and makes these adoptions affordable through access to reduced cost veterinary care and contributions towards pet essentials. Pets for Patriots is one of the only organizations in the country dedicated to both last-chance shelter pets and military members. The charity is a proud member of the Army AW2 Wounded Warrior Program national community support network, a national partner of the Real Warriors Campaign and is listed by the National Resource Directory for ill and wounded veterans. Visit www.petsforpatriots.org for more information.

About Flooring America

With over 500 locally owned and operated stores, Flooring America serves as your friendly, neighborhood source for exclusive floor-covering brands and expert advice. Visit Flooring America for an outstanding selection of carpet, hardwood, laminate, tile and vinyl floors, plus programs and warranties, like Move or Improve Assurance and the Ultimate Confidence Guarantee, that set Flooring America far apart from the competition. For more information, visit www.FlooringAmerica.com.

Tyler is a 23 year-old active duty member of the United States Navy. He joined the service six years ago and has been stationed in San Diego on the USS Peleliu LHA-5, an amphibious assault ship. He served three deployments, one humanitarian mission and two West Pacific missions, earning a Navy Achievement Medal during his second deployment.

Tyler is originally from Pea Ridge, Arkansas, and has always enjoyed the outdoors. “My favorite things to do include hunting, shooting, riding motorcycles and volunteering.”

Reducing anxiety at home when called out to sea

Four years ago Tyler and Jamie married. Both he and his wife always wanted to adopt a pet , but housing regulations prevented them from fulfilling their dream.

“Adopting a pet was something my wife and I were really wanting to do for several years, but we weren’t able to because of housing regulations,” says Tyler. “I have always had pets growing up and it just seems like something is missing to not have one.”

Thinking that a pet might ease his wife’s anxiety when he was out to sea, Tyler started to research the issue. He discovered studies that prove pet ownership reduces stress and anxiety.

Enter Macy: a small adult shelter dog whose size belies the big changes she brought to Tyler and his wife. While some people are hesitant to adopt shelter pets because their histories are often unknown, Macy has proven to be extremely affectionate and loves to cuddle on the couch. This would have been enough to bring happiness to Tyler and Jamie, but Macy has much more to give. Among other things, she proved that pets really do reduce stress.

“We have now found out that it really is true,” Tyler says.

While Tyler and Jamie saved Macy from an uncertain future, this little dog has saved them in her own way. 

Not just a house, but a home

“I can’t explain how much our lives have changed now that we have little Macy,” says Tyler. “She is such a good dog and it is a relief to know that my wife isn’t at home all alone all the time when I am out to sea or even just at work. It is so true that a house is not a home without a pet.”

Adopting through Pets for Patriots made the process both easier and more affordable for Tyler’s family: they received an adoption fee discount from the program’s local shelter partner, the County of San Diego Department of Animal Services. And once adopted, Tyler received a $150 contribution towards a virtual ‘pet food bank’ to help with food and other essentials for Macy, as well as ongoing discounted veterinary care from another community partner, Shelter Island Veterinary Hospital.

“We were so thrilled to find out about the Pets For Patriots program because of all the support they give to us as pet owners.”

When asked what would he say to other veterans who might be thinking about adopting through Pets For Patriots, Tyler’s enthusiastic answer?

“DO IT!!! With Pets For Patriots you can’t go wrong. Everyone we have dealt with has been exceptionally wonderful! It is so nice to have support financially and through email. We only have many, many compliments for Pets for Patriots.”

And about little Macy? Tyler adds, “She has brought to much happiness into our home.”

How does your pet make your house a home?

“I always had a dog growing up,” says Wesley, a Marine Reservist living in upstate New York. “When I returned home from deployment and got married, I decided it was time to restart that tradition.” He and his wife, Paige, hope to have kids one day. Wesley believes it’s important for his children to have the same experience that he had growing up by having pets around the house. 

Wesley served six years with the U.S. Marine Corps. Stationed in Syracuse, New York, he was deployed for seven months in 2009 as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom (now New Dawn). One of the highlights of his career was the opportunity to lead his company on a training exercise in Washington State.

“The C.O. [Commanding Officer] didn’t know I was the vehicle commander at the time and just told me to take the lead. Thankfully, I managed to get us to the target area without getting lost.”

Now Wesley lives in Rochester with Paige and Sass, a four year-old black Pug/Beagle mix, and is pursuing a nursing degree at the College of Brockport State University of New York. He puts in long hours between his studies and his job at the school as a chemistry tutor, but now has another reason to go home – besides his new bride.

A child by any other name

“Sass is our reason to hurry home at night,” Wesley says. Since both he and Paige are college students and keep odd hours, their four-legged “child” is a great motivator to establish a routine and spend quality time together – as a family.

The pair is so in love with their canine companion that they find her homeliness an asset.

“She’s so ugly that she’s cute,” says Wesley, noting that Sass “rules the roost” in their household. “The only two things she cannot do are sleep in bed with us and eat people food. Otherwise, it’s pretty much her reign.”

Don’t say it, spell it

Ugly or not, Sass is one smart pooch.

“She loves the outdoors and her walks,” Wesley says. “Paige and I had to start spelling out the word ‘walk,’ otherwise, Sass is at the door waiting to have her harness put on.”

Lucky for their beloved rescue dog, the couple’s city apartment is in close proximity to a park – though who walks whom is still up for debate.

An organization with a sweet mission

Wesley found Sass at Lollypop Farm Humane Society of Greater Rochester, a Pets for Patriots’ adoption partner in upstate New York. The shelter offers the charity’s members a 50% adoption fee discount, which, in addition to other program benefits, helped Wesley and Paige bring Sass into their new family. Sass qualified for the program because she’s an adult pet, but her dark fur gave her an additional challenge in finding a forever home since many people are reluctant to adopt black pets.

The couple discovered Pets for Patriots by pure chance while Paige was surfing the internet one day – and Wesley couldn’t be happier that she did. The pure joy Sass brings to both their lives is daily proof of that.

“Pets for Patriots is an awesome program,” says Wesley.

“For us, it was a really great deal. Pets for Patriots is an especially awesome program if you’re a veteran on a budget. They helped us restart my boyhood tradition of having a pet to love.”

 In what ways do you think adopting pets first helps a family prepare for having children?

The milestone adoption tale started on March 22, when the charity’s founder received an early evening phone call about a death row dog in Texas. The animal had been surrendered by a soldier who believed it would be adopted quickly, but was unaware that as a large breed dog, his beloved pet faced a harder time being placed.

“It was five o’clock when I received a call from a woman named Veanna in Fort Worth, Texas who was determined to save this dog,” says Beth Zimmerman, founder and executive director of Pets for Patriots. “Quinn was slated to die at seven the next morning. We didn’t think we could really help beyond posting the story on our Facebook and Twitter pages and hoping for the best.”

Zimmerman says the charity fields many such requests on a routine basis, but is unable to assist every time. “While our mission is saving last-chance pets and placing them with veterans and service members, we’re simply not set up to be able to save a particular animal in a particular shelter anywhere in the country,” she says. “We didn’t have much hope that we could help Quinn, but we decided to try.”

It didn’t take long before a Facebook post from a Fort Worth police officer named Paul changed everything: he contacted the shelter and ‘tagged,’ or reserved the dog. He intended to foster Quinn until he could find a loving home, and was already in contact with a woman in Kentucky who said she would adopt.

But it was another post on the charity’s Facebook page that caught Zimmerman’s attention.: a widower, and veteran of both the Army and Navy who vowed to adopt Quinn in order to save his life.

“He posted his phone number and I called right away,” says Zimmerman. “Sometimes you just know, ‘this is the one.’ I felt that way after speaking with George, and asked Paul to consider adopting out Quinn to this Texas veteran instead of sending him out of state.”

On March 31, Paul and his wife took Quinn to San Antonio to unite with George, who knew that his life would change forever – and for the better – with Quinn a part of it.

During their time together that afternoon, George learned something special about Paul: he was a Marine Corps veteran.

“Somehow it’s fitting,” says Zimmerman, “that a dog surrendered by a service member is saved by a veteran and ultimately adopted by another. It was simply meant to be.”

George and Quinn have become fast friends, even though the dog – at 70 pounds and growing – fancies himself a large lap dog.

“My companion will take me out of the despair I felt all the years since I lost my wife,” says George, adding, “Today is the first day of the rest of my life.”

+++++

About Pets for Patriots

Pets for Patriots, Inc., is a registered 501(c)(3) charity that helps military members honorably adopt adult and at-risk shelter pets. Its mission is to consistently give the gifts of fidelity, joy and companionship to both pet and person. Pets for Patriots is one of the only organizations in the country dedicated to both adult pets and military members. The charity is a proud member of the Army AW2 Wounded Warrior Program national community support network, a national partner of the Real Warriors Campaign and is listed by the National Resource Directory for ill and wounded veterans. Visit www.petsforpatriots.org for more information.

Black’ s Law Dictionary defines cruelty to animals as: “The infliction of physical pain, suffering, or death upon an animal, when not necessary for purposes of training or discipline or (in the case of death) to procure food or to release the animal from incurable suffering, but done wantonly, for mere sport, for the indulgence of a cruel and vindictive temper, or with reckless indifference to its pain.” 

Save animals from needless suffering by learning the 11 signs of abuse, neglect or cruelty:

1. Poor body condition and noticeable trauma: The animal has severe matting and a filthy coat, open sores or obvious wounds. It appears to be flea or tick infested. It’s underweight with bones clearly visible. It might be limping or unable to walk at all, or have congested eyes or ears. It is in obvious physical distress and in need of veterinary care.
2. Lack of food or water: Every time you see this animal, you notice that it has no obvious sources of food and/or water. It may be aggressive due to starvation and thirst, and perhaps very lethargic. 
3. Lack of shelter: The animal is contained in an area fully exposed to inclement weather or constant sun.
4. Lack of sanitation: Feces and/or debris cover the animal’s living area.
5. Abandoned: The animal is left in a house or yard that appears empty. Reports of companion animals abandoned and left to die inside vacant buildings or apartment units are alarmingly common, and it’s a crime in all 50 states to abandon an animal. If you notice a neighbor has moved or has stopped visiting a residence where you know animals live, be extra vigilant. Some dogs bark and whine to express their anxiety when they’re left alone, but a dog that is howling or barking for several hours is sending a clear signal that it is in need of immediate, life-saving care.
6. The animal is tied or caged: It has little room to move, and/or is unable to stand or turn.
7. There are chains or padlocks around or embedded into the animal’s neck: This includes regular collars, too. A chained animal is an abused animal.
8. The animal shows evidence of being trained for or having been used to fight: This is especially common with Pit Bull Terriers and even roosters. You may see training implements, treadmills, spring poles, etc. More likely, you’ll notice obvious signs of trauma, such as scars, open wounds, infections or even missing body parts, such as ears or partial tails.
9. The animal’s behavior is far from normal: It may be very aggressive or severely shy (e.g., cowering, hiding, fear-biting), even with or especially with its owner.
10. There are too many animals living on one property: This can be a sign of animal hoarding.
11. An owner being overtly violent against the animal, striking or otherwise physically abusing it.

The worst thing you can do if you witness or suspect animal cruelty or neglect is nothing. Be that animal’s voice and get it out of its abusive situation immediately. 

Four steps help an abused animal:
Animal cruelty is illegal in every state and a felony in 48 with the recent passage of the first felony animal cruelty law in Idaho. If you make a report of alleged animal cruelty the responding agency is required to investigate.

If you see an animal in distress, don’t assume that someone else will take care of the situation. Animals can’t speak for themselves; it’s up to you to speak for them.

1. Be prepared: Most large municipalities have a local animal control department, or an animal shelter or humane society responsible for cruelty investigations. Do an online search to identify the agency in your area, and program the number into your mobile phone so you are prepared to report abuse.
2. Speak up or call 911: If you witness overt violence against an animal or suspect it, speak up! If you don’t feel comfortable intervening in a situation directly, call 911 or your local animal welfare organization immediately (see step #1). It’s essential to call law enforcement when violence is involved, since it is likely part of an ongoing pattern that may include abuse against against people as well. If you’re traveling or living in a more rural area or community without an animal control agency, call 911 or the local police department.
3. Document the details: Tell the officer as many details of the situation as you can: the location, date, time and descriptions of the people and animals involved. Video and photographic documentation – even a mobile phone photo – can help bolster the case. Provide names of others who may have witnessed the incident. Remain on the scene until authorities arrive, if you can do so safely.
4. Prepare to testify: While you may remain anonymous, the case will be much stronger if you’re willing to identify yourself and testify to what you witnessed. A human witness is crucial for building a strong, prosecutable case.

Additional resources: 

• Perspectives on animal cruelty from a former humane law enforcement officer
• Signs of animal cruelty (flyer)
• How to stop animal cruelty
• State-by-state “humane” rankings: how does your state stack up?
• Percentages of various animal abuse crimes in the U.S.