Pfc. Hammer Finds a Home (meow!)

DoD-AFPS ^ | April 24, 2004 | Linda D. Kozaryn

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

Pfc. Hammer Finds a Home

By Linda D. Kozaryn
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, April 24, 2004 – A tiger-striped Iraqi kitten that wiggled its way into the hearts of a U.S. Army unit has made its way to the United States, thanks to a host of volunteers and two animal welfare groups.

Pfc. Hammer, an Iraq-born cat that befriended soldiers of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, during their deployment in Iraq, arrives in San Francisco, Calif., enroute to his new home in Colorado. Courtesy photo

Soldiers with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, dubbed the tiny ball of fur that wandered into their tent early last fall "Pfc. Hammer."

"He was born at the site," said Staff Sgt. Rick Bousfield. "There were two other kittens in the litter, but they ran away. He stayed and kept mice out of our living quarters and out of our dining facility."

Adopted by the troops, the young cat provided warmth and companionship in an otherwise hostile environment. When the unit was attacked by mortar fire, Hammer ran to the bunkers, where the nearest soldier scooped him inside his body armor to wait out the attack.

"He was like our stress therapist over there," Bousfield recalled. "You'd come in off raids where we'd been kicking in doors and guys would be sitting outside by themselves. He'd come over and take their minds off the war."

When Bousfield learned the unit was leaving Iraq to return to Fort Carson, Colo., he sent an e-mail asking for help to Alley Cat Allies, a national nonprofit clearinghouse for information on feral and stray cats, in Washington, D.C. The sergeant said he wanted to ensure his whole unit came home together, and that included Pfc. Hammer.

Hammer "has been quite a morale booster for us, because we consider him one of our troops," Bousfield wrote. "If there was a way that ACA could help get Hammer back to the States, it would be a wonderful boost for the men to see the cat who has won their hearts free – like the Iraqi people."

Bousfield's plea "brought the war home for us," said ACA national director Becky Robinson. "This was a soldier in Iraq writing us. How could we say no to a soldier in Iraq fighting for freedom?"

"His e-mail was so moving we felt like we couldn't say no," she said. "We had never done anything like this, but the moment we finished reading it, it was a given that we were going to figure out how to do this."

Hundreds of people sent e-mails and made donations to help get the cat to the States after ACA posted Hammer's plight on on the organization's web site, said Lynne Cummings, ACA director of gift planning.

"Alley Cat Allies doesn't usually get asked to do things in wartime," she said. "It was a really nice thing for us to be able to do to show our support to Rick and his unit. We didn't really care if we raised any money to help defray the costs."

ACA joined forces with Military Mascots, a grassroots all-volunteer effort dedicated to helping U.S. deployed service members who have befriended a canine mascot on foreign soil. Supporters' donations, combined with money from ACA's Compassion Fund, paid for Hammer's medical and travel expenses, Cummings said.

Working with a veterinary hospital in Kuwait, they arranged an international flight for Hammer. Prior to leaving the region, the cat was neutered and given a clean bill of health.

Bousfield returned from Iraq in early April. It took a week or so longer for Pfc. Hammer.

An ACA volunteer met up with Hammer when he arrived in San Francisco and accompanied the cat on a domestic flight to his new home outside of Denver. Bousfield and his daughter Tiffany, 15, along with another company member, Sgt. Robert Scott, were waiting for Hammer when he arrived at Denver International Airport.

The ACA volunteer who accompanied the cat said he started purring and kneading her arm as soon as he heard Bousfield's voice. The wartime bond formed thousands of miles away had not been forgotten.

Back at Fort Carson, Bousfield reunited Hammer with his former cohorts. "We all met at the same time to sign out on block leave so I took him in on his leash," Bousfield said. "They were happy to see him."

Hammer now lives with Bousfield's family – and five other cats. Bousfield said they all get along now that they've gotten "the pecking order straight."

"We kept him in a room by himself for a week," he said. "Little by little we let him out. He roams around all he wants to now. He runs around. He's fast. The vet says he's an Egyptian Mau."

Related Sites:
1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment
Fort Carson, Colo.
4th Infantry Division
Alley Cat Allies
Military Mascots

	Staff Sgt. Rick Bousfield and his daughter Tiffany, greet Pfc. Hammer at Denver International Airport. Bousfield sought help from Alley Cat Allies in Washington, D.C., to get the Iraq-born cat to the United States. Courtesy photo
	Staff Sgt. Rick Bousfield holds Pfc. Hammer, the Iraq-born cat that joined his infantry company during their deployment in Iraq. Courtesy photo

(click pics)

 

[Not A Snowbird]

Pookie, was that photo taken with a digital camera? I have a pic of my tuxedo cat that I'd like to post, but if I try to enlarge it the picture gets really distorted. Any ideas?

[pookie18]

Pookie, was that photo taken with a digital camera? I have a pic of my tuxedo cat that I'd like to post, but if I try to enlarge it the picture gets really distorted. Any ideas?

Don't have a digital camera. I think that my son scanned it & sent it to me. Can't help you. BTW, I have a half sister in Seattle (though I'm in NJ).

[gimme1ibertee]

Oh gosh! Chantelle's a beauty!
I have a couple of buddies myself....Boog the big grey tiger & Rusty the orange instigator :)

[pookie18]

I posted that pic almost 3 months ago. How come all of a sudden there are some comments in that old thread? Say "hi" to Boog & Rusty.

[Not A Snowbird]

Thanks. I think it's my digital camera giving me trouble, because this is as big as my Phoebe gets:

[Serb5150]

Pfc. Hammer update... he's a beautiful kitty.

[gimme1ibertee]

Will do re Boog & Rusty....
As far as the pic, I dunno. I must've been asleep at the keyboard! :)

[pookie18]

She's a cutie!

[ßuddaßudd]

I like your cat, she is beautiful. I also have a large handsome tuxedo cat that act like a dog. Unfortunately I dont have a site to post pics from to show you.

[rintense]

I don't think he's pure Egyptian Mau- they are not that big. He looks like a cross between a domestic and a sand cat of some sort. He's quite beautiful, nonetheless.

[Not A Snowbird]

Phoebe was a PetCo store cat; they let me have her when she didn't adjust well to the store relocating. I call her my brat cat. I just wish I could make the picture bigger, she's got the cutest smile painted on her face and big green eyes.

[rintense]

My children:

[ßuddaßudd]

We got ours at the pound. Best $50 I ever spent. My 'little buddy' has yellow eyes. We also had to spend another 5k to get him doctored up after he had a nasty fight with a car a few years back. I would love to email a pic of him to you/anyone if interested.

[AnAmericanMother]

Charming kitties.

Are the last two littermates?

[JellyJam]

Beautiful kitties ... especially the black one. I love black cats.

[jwfiv]

Yes, pretty exotic creature with those long legs and markings.

I love the pic of the big orange tabby lounging on the beach rocks, soaking up some rays.

[rintense]

Actually, the second and last are the same cat. Nope, they are all two years apart, and completely different. My big black is 12, the 'lion' is 10, and the little squirt with the head tilt is 8.

[AnAmericanMother]

I was looking at the scarab marks between the ears and the pretty pink noses, and thinking that perhaps they were related.

Ours are 13, 12 and 8. Blue Point male, Blue Point female, and weird little Lilac Point. The Blue Point male is the great great uncle of the Lilac, the BP female is wholly unrelated to the other two, even in a 10 generation pedigree.

[rintense]

My brother adores his blue point, Oscar. He lost his other blue point a few years ago to cancer and was heartbroken. Are yours really talkative?

My 'lion' is truly my baby. I helped 'birth' her 10 years ago when her mom was having trouble. Since then, we've been buddies. She's quite unusual too. She is more of a dark black classic tabby, which is pretty rare for a female. My other girl, the mackerel tabby, is nothing but a motor boat. She purrs so darn loud!

[AnAmericanMother]

Are yours really talkative?

Do fish swim? They never STOP talking. One or the other is always strolling around complaining about something or demanding to be fed/be petted/have the litter box cleaned . . . Right now the BP male is sitting on his haunches in the middle of the study floor complaining - the dog is lying out in one of the easy chairs staring at him wondering why he's making such a fuss.

I have never met a Siamese who didn't talk his or her head off to all and sundry. My parents had a Lilac Point who lived to be 23. She loved to go up into the upstairs hallway and yell at the top of her lungs. She sounded like a colicky baby.

I used to breed and show Siamese B.C. (Before Children.) Our ladies insisted on having their babies in our bed instead of in their beautiful queening box with the soft receiving blankets and the heat lamp. Even moving the box right next to my side of the bed did not convince them that that was the place to be. We finally gave up and just slept with a couple of beach towels spread out under the top sheet when a queen was expecting. After they were born, though, one of our queens insisted on keeping her babies in the wicker trash can in the bedroom. Once she had one very large male kitten, passed the placenta, and then never went back into labor. After 5 hours with no contractions I toted her to my vet still in the wicker trash can. The doc peered into the wastebasket and asked, "If you were so worried, why did you wait three days to bring her in?" I told her she'd had the first kitten five hours ago, and she said, "You're a liar!" (All in fun of course, that was in 1977 and she's still my vet.) But she X-rayed Miss Avi and she was completely empty - that big old boy was the only occupant. When she came in milk he kept four spigots in full operation, and she had an ample supply. He grew and grew and grew - wound up being 15 pounds although he was a very slender cat. We actually showed him to his championship, but the judges used to look at him funny because he was twice the size of anything else in the ring. He did have beautiful conformation, he was just oversize.