Puppies and Kittens and Donkeys (?!) Finding Homes with Military Families

I recently read an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer about Apollo, a stray dog shot in 2017 and rescued by PAWS of Kurdistan International, a nonprofit animal rescue based in Iraq. Because I am a lifelong animal lover, and my current work-in-progress includes a subplot revolving around a no-kill shelter for cats, I knew I wanted to learn more.

Life in a War Zonesoldier-870399_1920
Life is difficult enough for animals living on the streets in the United States. What happens to abandoned and stray animals living in war zones?

Some of these animals befriend members of the U.S. military. The humans provide food and perhaps shelter, while the animals offer companionship to soldiers who are far away from the people and places they love.

But life in the military is life on the move. When soldiers return home, they often must leave behind a beloved dog or cat.

The soldiers who rescued Charlie could not bear to leave the lovable black and white mutt behind. They had found him when he was only a puppy, and the young dog soon became an integral part of their unit. They reached out to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals International (ASPCAI). As a result of their efforts, Operation Baghdad Pups was born, and Charlie became the first Baghdad Pup.

As Charlie’s story spread, more soldiers reached out to the ASPCAI for help bringing their special animals home with them. Since its founding in 2008, Baghdad Pups has reunited 355 dogs, 109 cats, and even a donkey with the people who befriended them in Iraq.

This ASPCAI operation eventually expanded beyond Iraq, reuniting military personnel with companion animals from other Middle East countries, Central Europe, Southeast Asia, and Africa—anywhere American military men and women serve. With the help of numerous other organizations, Operation Baghdad Pups continues its work of reuniting military personnel with the animals they befriended while serving overseas. Since its expansion, Baghdad Pups has rescued 640 dogs and cats and hopes to rescue 140 animals by the end of 2018.

Apollo: A Very Special Pup
Apollo, a black mutt with soulful eyes—just look at that picture accompanying Jason Nark’s article!—was not the special friend of a U.S. soldier, but he was a suffering dog that came to the attention of Operation Baghdad Pups.

Apollo was shot in the leg with a 9mm round in Ankawa, a suburb of Erbil, in July 2017. “It’s a terrible, terrible injury for a dog,” said Meredith Ayan, the SPCAI’s executive director. Left behind to suffer by his attacker, Apollo was rescued by members of PAWS Kurdistan and transferred to the care of Operation Baghdad Pups. He arrived in the United States in April 2018.

Veterinarians from the United States and Europe will soon perform a complex surgical procedure to repair Apollo’s mangled leg and, they hope, restore him to a pain-free life. All the veterinarians are donating their services.

For now, Apollo enjoys running free in a beautiful wooded suburb of Philadelphia under the watchful eye of Valerie Ogden, his current caretaker. Ogden believed Apollo only understood commands in Kurdish, but his love of dog biscuits appears to transcend language. The goal, she says, is to get Apollo into a “forever home” after his surgery.

Support for Pets of Military Families
Sometimes the animals needing help live on military bases right here in the United States. They have loving families and comfortable homes. But, as with soldiers in war zones, the families of military personnel must be ready to move. When that happens, what do they do if they cannot afford the expense of relocating their beloved pets?

210809-A-YG824-074According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), approximately 6.5 million companion animals enter U.S. animal shelters nationwide every year. Of those, approximately 3.2 million are adopted, while approximately 1.5 million are euthanized because they cannot return to their families or no one adopts them into a new family.

Some of these surrendered animals come from military families.

The military pays for many moving costs, but it doesn’t help military families relocate the family pet. The cost for pet transportation can be hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Shelters located near military bases report high surrender rates when military families can’t afford to relocate their dog or cat.

Once again, the SPCAI comes to the rescue with Operation Military Pets. Its mission is “to keep military families together by providing financial assistance for pet relocation costs. All branches of the military can qualify for grants. Whether being relocated within the United States or anywhere in the world, SPCAI’s Operation Military Pets is here to keep pets with the ones they love.”

The stories of the many military families helped by Operation Military Pets are enough to bring tears to this animal lover’s eyes.

God Bless Us, Every One, Every Day!

Christmas is or ought to be the one time of the year when men and women
open their shut-up hearts and think of the people below them as if they really were
fellow passengers to the grave and not another race of creatures altogether.
—Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol 

As 2017 draws to a close, I find myself reflecting on the events of the past year. With all due respect to Charles Dickens, I wonder why we cannot open our “shut-up hearts” every day. Perhaps that is too much to ask.

Yet people do open their hearts at other times—when they learn about children who have lost their homes or when they read about a handicapped person whose wheelchair has been stolen. People seem to be particularly generous when natural disasters strike.

During the past few months alone, hurricanes, volcanoes, floods, wildfires, earthquakes, and other natural disasters have affected millions of people around the world. As an animal lover, I find myself wondering about the hurricane-harvey-rescue-boats-ap-jt-170827_12x5_992welfare of the animals with which we share the earth, particularly our pets. How do they cope during natural disasters? What can we do to help them?

All Creatures, Great and Small

Because all creatures are connected, each must be cherished with love and respect
for all of us as living creatures are dependent on one another.—Pope Francis, Laudato sí

Our pets rely on us for everything from food to shelter to medical care to companionship. As helpless as we are in the face of disaster, we at least have the resources to save ourselves.

• Animals cannot make a phone call or send a text.
• Animals cannot let themselves out of flooded homes, barns, or pastures.
• Animals cannot travel miles to safety.
• Even animals rescued by their owners cannot always take refuge at emergency shelters because not all shelters accept pets.

In the United States, although we do not yet know the full consequences of Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, or the California wildfires, we do know that during Hurricane Katrina—a benchmark for all natural disasters—approximately 600,000 animals died or were abandoned.

While saving and safeguarding human lives must take precedence in rescue and relief efforts, we cannot forget about the animals.

It takes nothing away from a human to be kind to an animal. —Joaquin Phoenix

cat-face-close-view-115011Organizations such as national and local SPCAs, the Humane Society,  and other shelters do incredible work year-round. During disasters, they often help shelters in affected areas by taking in the overflow of animals.

As critical as these efforts are, it’s often the actions of individuals that make the biggest difference. In many cases, it’s children and teens that lead the way.

Over the past few months, I’ve read many stories about young people giving of themselves to help disaster-stricken animals. The following stories stood out to me because they involve two of my favorite things: Music and Cookies.

Fiddling for the Animals
Hurricane Harvey hit the Gulf Coast of Texas as a Category 4 storm in August, causing massive flooding and forcing thousands to evacuate. When 10-year-old Jackson Wreden read about the devastation in his home state, he immediately wanted to help. “I really love pets and I really love animals, and I want to help them out.”

Many people saw the same stories and had the same impulse to help. But not everyone took action.

In October, Jackson put his talent as a fiddler to work for the animals. He made homemade signs announcing his intention to donate all proceeds to Austin Pets Alive. Then he stationed himself outside the entrance to the Austin City Limits Music Festival and played his heart out for the animals.

Thanks to his selfless act and the generosity of many concertgoers, Jackson reached his goal of $1,000. I say, “Bravo, Jackson!”

Baking Cookies for the Animals
Declan McWeeny isn’t even from Texas, but when the 8-year-old boy from Bloomfield, Connecticut, saw the stories about Hurricane Harvey on television, like Jackson, he wanted to raise money to help the suffering animals.

Like Jackson, Declan also has a talent—not music, but baking. With the help of his mother, Declan spent many days after school baking and then selling his chocolate chip cookies to family, friends, and others via Facebook and a GoFundMe account.

Declan’s initial goal was to raise $1,000, which he divided equally between his two favorite charities: Austin Pets Alive! and Save the Children. Once he surpassed that goal, Declan sent the additional donations to Americares and the ASPCA. Great job, Declan!

Do not think only of your own joy, but vow to save all beings from suffering. —Dalai Lama

Start with ChristmastimeCharles_Dickens-A_Christmas_Carol-Title_page-First_edition_1843
At the end of The Man Who Invented Christmas, the movie depicting how Charles Dickens came to write A Christmas Carol, producers included the following note: “Charles Dickens published A Christmas Carol on Dec. 19, 1843. By Christmas Eve every copy had been sold. Overnight, charitable giving soared.”

What better time of year to start thinking beyond our own joy? We would all do well to open our “shut-up” hearts to all the people and animals that share this world with us.

As Tiny Tim says, “God bless us, every one!”

Books, Kids, and Cats—Purrfect Together

I seem to be ping-ponging between inspiring teen stories and inspiring animal stories. It’s only natural. I’m a writer of YA stories. And as a lifelong cat lover, I spend a lot of time thinking about cats, playing with cats, and catering to the every whim of the three cats that adopted me.

Cats are even dominating my writing time. My current work-in-progress is a young adult novel about a cat-hating runaway who finds herself living in a shelter for homeless cats. Dare I hope that the cats will win over Abi Rose?

But I digress.

For me, the perfect day is relaxing in a comfy chair with a cat on my lap and a book in my hands. So I was intrigued to learn about the many programs springing up around the country encouraging children to read to shelter cats.

A Reader Is Born

Photo by David Peterson http://www.digital-photo-secrets.com/tip/6020/photographing-human-animal-bond/

Photo by David Peterson
http://www.digital-photo-secrets.com/tip/6020/photographing-human-animal-bond/

The program that seems to have started it all is the Book Buddies Program run by the Animal Rescue League (ARL) of Berks County, Pennsylvania.

Go on. Check out the website. The first picture alone is worth the visit. I dare you not to exclaim “AWWWW!”

In 2013, then-ARL program coordinator Kristi Rodriguez was at her wits’ end trying to help her young son improve his reading skills. Like many reluctant or slow readers, he had particular difficulty reading aloud in front of his classmates.

Studies at Tufts University suggested, “Human-animal interaction can make the learning process more comfortable and enjoyable for children.” Studies also showed that animals could be a “non-evaluative presence that can provide support and comfort to participants without judging them.”

Rodriguez was ready to try any approach that might help her son. She took him to the shelter and suggested he read aloud to the homeless cats living there.

He enjoyed it so much, he begged to return. Eventually, his reading improved, and he began reading aloud at home to the family dogs.

A Win-Win Situation

Rodriguez noticed that the cats seemed to enjoy the attention as well.

Many strays that land in shelters have been abused or alone for so long they are frightened of human contact. But Rodriguez’s son wasn’t trying to play with them or pet them. He was simply reading. Soon, even the most skittish cats seemed to calm down when he came for his visits.

Rodriguez wondered if the cats would benefit from regular visits with other children reading to them. Thus, Book Buddies was born.

Today, homeschooled children, Brownie Troops, autistic children, and other students in grades 1 through 8 participate in the Book Buddies Program. They read to the cats and, yes, play with those that feel comfortable enough to do so.

Shelters in other states, including North Carolina, Georgia, and Illinois, have teamed with libraries to launch similar programs.

In Indiana, the Johnson County Animal Shelter teamed up with Webb Elementary School.

Jennifer Bartram, literacy specialist at Webb, worked with shelter director Michael Delp to launch a reading-to-animals program for her second to fourth graders.

“It gives the kids an opportunity to practice reading in front of an audience that’s not going to judge them and then they’re also learning the importance of volunteering and giving back to the community,” she says.

Delp says the reading program brings noticeable benefits to the shelter cats as well. “I’ve seen some animals that are really normally agitated and anxious settle down, lay down in their kennels, and listen to the kids and watch the kids as they read to them.”

I’m all for any program that introduces kids to the idea that reading can be fun and that also helps socialize shelter cats—and dogs—and make them more likely to find their forever homes.

Remember: If you want to add a cat or dog to your family, ADOPT. Please do not go to pet stores or breeders or puppy mills.

The cats and dogs in shelters need homes. They need you.

Don’t let them down.

Recommended Reading

Although Trouper by Meg Kearney and illustrated with paintings by the incomparable E.B. Lewis is not about a boy who reads to dogs, it is a heartwarming book based on a true rescue story. Animal lovers of all ages will enjoy this book.

Read it to your favorite child, cat, or dog.

 

revKidLit