When a single soldier (of any variety) is deployed, what happens to his/her pet(s)? Is there anything set up to take care of them, base/post-wide or military-wide? Or does the deployee rely on friends for help?
Related question: Is there a problem on/around bases/posts with pets being left behind/abandoned/turned in to shelters when people are deployed (or when they're being sent to a new duty station, I suppose)?
This is for a story; I'm not looking to fingerpoint or demean the fine members of our military!
Thanks!
4 comments:
Ex-dependent here. Single soldiers don't usually get pets, for that very reason. Families do get pets, and yes, they rely on the community to foster/place them when they are deployed (usually the latter).
There is a horrible problem with abandoned pets on military bases, usually foisted on the surrounding communities. Also, people in the surrounding communities will abandon pets on base, with the reasoning "someone will take care of them." (NSFLife: Base maintenaance workers where we were stationed were so overrun with feral cats, they put out trays of anti-freeze as a "control"; they approached it like they would a rodent problem. I got into a screaming match about it with them. They really didn't care.)
Single sailors rely on family/friends to house their pets when they're deployed. I haven't heard of a problem of abandoned pets on base, though there is the occasional story of a pet found abandoned in a home after a military family moves.
What Cavalaxis said..it is especially bad overseas because people don't want to go to the trouble of shipping their pets back to the States or to their next duty station. It was an ongoing problem in the family housing at RAF Lakenheath and the vet clinic that was near Edwards in So Cal told me some horror stories about it. Sadly, the base papers and local papers nearby are always full of ads for 'PCS'ing, can't take pet ads'. We couldn't afford to ship all of our pets when we went overseas the first time, plus you are only allowed to take two, so...we had hard decisions to make.
I think it's just like any other situation with pets, some people are assholes, some people are responsible, but if you ask around, you can usually find help.
Thank you all for your input! You've been extremely helpful. xo
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