| TWEET: TheNatlGuard Volunteers care for pets of deployed troops #NationalGuard ... http://bit.ly/hiufAm Volunteers care for pets of deployed troops By Scott Wyland LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL Posted: Feb. 14, 2011 | 7:56 p.m. Updated: Feb. 15, 2011 | 8:20 a.m. Brian and Kristle Aleman faced many uncertainties when they were deployed in January. What will it be like serving in a war zone? Will they see each other in Afghanistan? Will they return stateside next year as healthy as when they left? One thing they didn't have to fret about was whether their beloved dogs would be cared for while they were gone. The couple left their black Labrador, Pepper, and their Yorkshire terrier, Rambo, in temporary homes they found through a program called Guardian Angels for Soldier's Pet, based in Texas. Without the program, they probably would not have gotten anyone to take Pepper, a large breed, on such short notice, said Spc. Kristle Aleman, 20. She and her husband shipped out together on Jan. 6 with the 422nd Expeditionary Signal Battalion, the second-biggest Army National Guard deployment in the state's history. "We honestly had no other place we could take her," Aleman wrote in an e-mail from a base south of Seattle, where her unit is training before it heads to Afghanistan in March. "We wouldn't know what we'd do if we would have had to take her to a pound or anything where we would never see her again." Guardian Angels, founded in 2005, is a volunteer pet foster-care program for military personnel who are sent overseas or anyplace where they cannot take their animals. It was created in response to deployed service members who were forced to give their pets to shelters or other agencies, never knowing whether the animals were adopted or euthanized. Because it's a volunteer organization, Guardian Angels is understaffed. Nevada's coordinator, Sarah James, handles pet placement in 30 states. She can be reached at md-gasp@hotmail.com. Just a handful of Southern Nevada residents have signed up to look after pets, mainly because the program isn't well-known, James said. "It's just getting the word out to soldiers," she said, and to prospective foster parents. PET FOSTER CAREGIVERS The couple who took in the Alemans' Labrador are dog lovers who wanted to help local soldiers deployed to war zones. Kim Conklin, 43, a library supervisor, heard about Guardian Angels on CBS news. "I thought it was a neat program," she said. "It's one less thing they (soldiers) have to worry about." Her husband, Karl, 46, is a police driving instructor. He has never worn a military uniform but believes caring for soldiers' animals is a good way to chip in. "Maybe you could call it a civic duty," he said. "Even if you don't agree with the war, you should support the troops." Pepper will be a guest in their household until the Alemans finish their yearlong tour of duty. Pepper has adjusted well and gets along with her four foster siblings: two Chihuahuas and two mixed breeds, Kim Conklin said. "She's like our own dog," she said. "But you have to think in the back of your head that we've got to give her up in a year." Karl Conklin said it's difficult not to get attached to a dog that is so affectionate. Then, as if on cue, Pepper trotted over and laid her head in his lap. "They're our fur children," his wife remarked. "These are the only kids we're ever going to have," he said. Fostering an animal requires filling out a fairly extensive application. Most of the questions are standard, such as the type of animal you would care for -- dog, cat, bird, horse -- the number of pets in your household and whether you have children, a fenced backyard and a landlord who allows pets. Applicants also are asked whether they would take a pet with special medical needs or are allergic to furry critters. "They want to make sure you can take care of them," Kim Conklin said. After the Conklins were put on the foster parent list, the organization called them in November and said a married couple needed a temporary home for their dogs. The Alemans were going off to train for six weeks, return briefly and then deploy to Afghanistan. Kristle Aleman's father couldn't take the dogs because he has a big Siberian Husky. The Conklins accepted Pepper but had to turn away Rambo, the Yorkie, because six dogs in the house would be too many. A woman in Bakersfield, Calif., agreed to house Rambo. The timing was good because the Alemans, who had recently married, were traveling to Southern California for a mini-honeymoon. Still, Kristle Aleman said it would have been more convenient -- and less stressful -- to have placed both dogs in Las Vegas area homes. "So hopefully more people will hear about the program and take care of more soldiers' pets in the future because that was definitely a time crunch," she said. GUARDIAN ANGELS Not all soldiers who need foster care for their pets are sent overseas. Take Capt. Patrick Arizmendi, 34, who serves in an area National Guard unit. He went to a six-month school in Fort Knox, Ky., to train in armored vehicle maneuvers. He left his cat, Ethel, with Jessica Walser, an insurance claims manager who heard about the program through her volunteer work with animals. "It's good to know you have someone to take care of your loved ones -- your pets," he said. Arizmendi has been deployed twice to Iraq and once to Afghanistan, and during those tours, he found someone willing to care for his cats while he was away. But if he had known about Guardian Angels, he would have placed his cats with foster parents in that program, he said. "It would've been easier," he said. The program doesn't allow foster parents to receive stipends. However, the owners can cover the costs of food and medical care. Arizmendi said he paid $55 a month for necessities and earmarked $200 for veterinary care. Walser, 37, said she joined the program to aid soldiers and the animals. She heard of military personnel taking their pets to the pound or, worse, dumping them because shelters were full. Some shelters have turned away animals because there was no room with all the pets abandoned during the foreclosure crisis, Walser said. She said she became attached to Ethel and found it "heartbreaking" to return her to Arizmendi. Still, she plans to foster others, even if there's pain mixed in. "Whatever I can do," she said. Contact reporter Scott Wyland at swyland@ reviewjournal.com or 702-455-4519. |
The things that matter in life.
The things that matter in life.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Volunteers care for pets of deployed troops
