Foster Families Care for Soldiers' Pets

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - When Marines from a nearby base were called to war, Terri Morgan's home, along the North Carolina coast, became a sanctuary for three snakes, a frog that makes strange noises, fish, a cockatiel and tarantulas.

Her hospitality is part of ``Operation Semper Fido,'' an effort she started on behalf of military men and women who have no one else to care for their beloved pets while they serve overseas.

Using the Internet, she has found foster families as far away as Wisconsin and New York for nearly 600 dogs, cats, spiders, frogs - even a 30-foot python.

``I'm taking anybody and everybody,'' said Morgan, a police animal control officer in Havelock, 130 miles east of Raleigh. ``If they (Marines) love it, I'll take care of it,'' she said recently.

Trina Sage, who served 24 years in the Air Force and lives near Havelock, offered her patience and fenced-in yard to a 6-month-old mutt left behind by a Marine corporal from nearby Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station.

Serving as a foster mother to Lupey, a part-border collie still in need of housebreaking, ``is just my way to do my part in the war effort to help the local Marines,'' Sage said. She already owns a dog, two cats and two goldfish.

Although she's ready to give Lupey back when the Marine returns for him, she knows it will be emotionally difficult.

``It's going to be tough,'' she said. ``He's a really cute puppy. It's going to be really hard to give him up.''

Those who monitor animal welfare say a number of factors have combined to make the problem of pets left behind by deployed soldiers considerably less severe during the current conflict than it was in the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

Fewer soldiers were deployed for this war, they say, and many families expect a short conflict, meaning more spouses and children have stayed near military installations instead of heading back to hometowns.

Also, the Internet helped spur the creation of networks of civilians willing to act as foster parents to pets in need of refuge.

``It does not seem to be a big crisis,'' said Betsy McFarland, program manager for animal sheltering at the Humane Society of the United States in Washington.

During the 1990-91 build up to the Gulf War, when 500,000 soldiers were sent overseas, shelters saw a surge in abandoned pets - and euthanasia, McFarland said. This time, about 300,000 soldiers have been deployed, and similar problems have been avoided.

North Carolina's State Animal Response Team, a nonprofit, state-private partnership, expected maybe 30 volunteers when it spread the word in October that it needed foster homes for pets. Instead, about 500 calls came in, said Jodi Jackson, the team's executive director.

Many soldiers are single and live on-post, where commanders rarely allow pets. For those who do keep animals, the military takes no responsibility for what happens to them during a deployment.

``It is an individual responsibility,'' Pentagon spokeswoman Maj. Sandra Troeber said.

At the county animal shelter in Columbus, Ga., near Fort Benning, manager Francis Steed said officials have been able to keep up with the several hundred pets left for adoption since deployments began last fall.

At Camp Pendleton in California, there were scores of adoptions after word got out in February that the on-base animal shelter was overcrowded with pets dropped off by departing Marines.

Marine Cpl. Mike Anson gave up his white and black pit bull, Mavis, just six months after picking her up from the same shelter.

``I tried everybody, but no one could take her,'' he said before he was deployed in January. ``This is absolutely the last resort.''

Humane Society of the United States tips for military families: www.hsus.org/ace/16337

Out here, in Cali, we have Foster For Troops. They are doing a great job. :-)

2 posted on 04/22/2003 2:51:09 AM PDT by Bella_Bru (For all your tagline needs. Don't delay! Orders shipped overnight.)

We know a pilot who is being sent to Korea for one year but cannot take the dog (an affectionate dog who was deserted by a prevous owner). Someone agreed to care for her for a fee for the year. We have been worried about the impact on the dog. Since a dog cannot recognize photos, someone suggested making a tape of familiar voices.

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