Groups Arrange Foster Care for Military Pets
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, May 12, 2004 — Deploying overseas means leaving friends and loved
ones behind. For service members with no one to take care of their beloved dog,
cat, bird or other pet, it once meant also having to abandon or turn the pet
over to a shelter — never to see it again.
Thanks to two nonprofit groups — the Military Pets Foster Project and Operation
Noble Foster — service members can now arrange foster care for their pets while
they're gone.
The Military Pets Foster Project, a nonprofit group founded by animal lover
Steve Albin, has placed about 15,000 pets in foster homes throughout the United
States while their owners serve in Iraq and Afghanistan. Operation Noble
Foster, which specializes in foster homes for cats, has found temporary homes
for about 25 military cats a month since shortly after Sept. 11, 2001,
according to founder Linda Mercer.
Albin and Mercer said they established their groups shortly after the Sept. 11
terrorist attacks, when they learned that thousands of service members had been
forced to give up their pets when they deployed to Operation Desert Storm more
than a decade earlier. "What kind of morale builder is that?" Albin said. "Does
it mean that to serve, you have to be willing to put your best friend to
sleep?"
Since launching the Military Pets Foster Project, Albin estimates that the
group has saved as many as 150,000 pets from being abandoned or turned over to
shelters, where pets not quickly adopted often are euthanized. Although dogs
and cats are the most common pets in need of foster homes, Albin said his group
has also placed ferrets, rabbits, horses, lizards, snakes and other "exotics,"
including a pot-bellied pig.
Albin said he matches pets in need of foster care with appropriate foster homes
and requires those involved in the arrangement to sign a foster agreement.
Both Albin and Mercer said they're impressed by the outpouring of support they
receive from people willing to provide foster care for pets while service
members deploy in support of the war, serve tours where they can't take their
pets, or even ship off to basic training.
"People are opening up their hearts and their doors to help the people of the
military," said Albin. "It's a patriotic gesture of thanks."
Mark Delman from Parker, Colo., signed up through Operation Noble Foster to
provide a foster home for five cats owned by a military family currently
stationed in Germany. Delman said he encourages others to open their doors as
well.
"These people are keeping us safe and free, and shouldn't have to give up their
beloved pets to do so," he said. "Offering a foster home is a way of saying
'thanks.' I tell people not to hesitate to do it."
Albin encourages service members in need of foster care for their pets to give
the Military Pets Foster Project as much notice as possible of their upcoming
deployment so the group can find a suitable home.
For more information, visit the organizations' Web sites.
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