My Elphie loves to smooch! She is gentle, sweet, mellow, and everyone in our neighborhood loves her. Especially my cat, who is so happy to have her as a cuddly roommate! Dogs are individuals. Responsible ownership makes safer communities, not banning a dog based on its looks. (Photo courtesy of Katherine Good)
As the months go by and the signatures to standardize military pet policies?climb to more than 20,000, I become?more convinced that changing military housing pet policies is not only possible, but?the current housing pet policies are?severly damaging troop?s quality of life and leaving cherished family pets to an unknown fate.
With numerous military families sharing their heartbreaking stories of leaving pets behind because they had to choose between affordable, safe housing or keeping their family members, I?m?angry?they are even faced with such a gut wrenching decision, especially when no science supports the assertion that an animal?s looks are directly tied to their behavior.
One story I was especially moved by was?the story of Willy, a one-eyed Pit Bull type adopted by a soldier who had to move to?base housing and?while sobbing, he returned the poor animal back to the shelter.
What I have also discovered on this issue is that the private military housing companies don?t uniformly enforce pet policies, with many only doing so when there?s a complaint. This means those following certain policies are dismayed when their neighbors?violate rules with no consequences. And some bases?have weak?pet enforcement procedures pertaining to animal cruelty, pet abandonment or other violations, such as excessive barking or chaining.
Since there?s?no scientific way to identify a breed, families have found they can call a pet whatever breed they want, as long as that breed isn?t ?banned.? And many people don?t know how to dispute a breed label, even though breed labeling is unscientific. The military veterinarian community opposes breed bans and has said in a policy letter to their staff that DNA testing cannot?identity breeds with?any scientific degree of certainty.
I would like to see this issue taken on in the civil court system with a housing company that tries to force a family to give up a ?banned? breed animal. Since there?s no proof of breed, how would the private company be successful in providing the breed classification? Many social changes happen first in the judicial system and maybe this issue will follow a similar pattern. The civil courts are designed to assist citizens, and I can only hope that in time, a military family will have the courage to fight back against this injustice.
What our military pet community needs is a consistent, Department of Defense-wide pet policy that focuses primarily on educating military families on responsible pet ownership. Resources must also exist to assist on base with animal law enforcement. Despite efforts to make military pet abandonment a punishable offense?(which hasn?t happened), many cases are dropped and the abuser goes unpunished. I have personally researched or spoken to families about multiple cases where military members faced little to no punishment for animal cruelty.??
This is my son Craig. He has just signed on with the Marines and will ship off to boot camp next summer. When he thinks about not being able to take his pit bull Titan snuggled up with here with him when he goes, he gets upset. It?s not fair that they take away the things we love. Titan is a great dog and a part of the family, but Craig is lucky and Titan can stay here. Other families are not so lucky. (Photo courtesy of Nicole Craig Culp)
Military personnel are using Pit Bull types and many other ?banned? breeds overseas fighting in our nation?s wars, yet these same dogs cannot live in base housing with their handlers. And military housing insurance companies are using junk science to assess breed risk.
Until the military community works together to fix the underlying causes that prompted breed bans, we?ll never put a dent in this issue.
I implore all of you who are frustrated by a lack of official pet education and enforcement of breed neutral pet policies to politely make your voice politely heard?through family service centers, housing surveys, commander town halls, filing an Inspector General complaint?and in or out of the military by writing your federal legislators. This problem can be fixed, and I am hoping we can work together to make that happen.
Please sign the petition and share this posting with your family and friends. We all can use our voice to make a difference and protect our family members that cannot speak for themselves.
Sign here: http://www.change.org/petitions/standardize-military-pet-policies
?Like? the page to Standardize Military Pet Policies on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/StandardizeMilitaryPetPolicies?ref=hl
Now it?s your turn?are pet issues a problem in your military community? Tell us about it.
Source: http://hawaiimilitarypets.com/2012/11/protect-military-pets-with-education-and-enforcement/
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