[Opinion_counts]

Hi ya'll,
I was hoping I could find some folks on here that could tell me of their or someone elses experience of having to give up there pet when they when over to serve. Good and Bad stories..I am doing a study on this for school and need some real "data" (I think NC is keep someone dog for them?) but any and information I could get would be great

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE

[Anaedilla]

Well, the main thing keeping me from joining the reserves is my pets, honestly. No real experience, though.

[priordine]

I had to give up 2 pets. My Chow & Chow mix obviously had to stay with my parents for 18 mos while I was in basic, tech school & Korea. I would sent them swatches of cut up t-shirts I wore for them to remember their "mommy." lol.

Anyway, when I came state side I got my dogs back. I kept them in my dorm room for a while - a BIG no-no, but eventually had to board them at the vet's. This was a pain b/c I had to go to the vet's every day for "visitation." it would be near closing time so the vet would let me take the dogs out & spend some time brushing them & loving on them for about 20 mins before they had to go back to their concrete kennels.

I eventually started paying married people to "rent" their backyards since single airmen have to live in dorms where pets are not allowed. This was a bad thing since one couple who I paid to watch my Chow mix got attached to him while I was sent to the mid-east. I even had to go get the SPs when I returned so I could get my dog b/c they refused to give him back to me! My Chow meanwhile was boarded at the vet's for during that time, which cost a pretty penny & he probably didn't like either.

Later on I had my fiancee take care of the dogs (he was an NCO who could live off base) & my Chow tried to bite him several times even going so far as to chase him down the hall until he found a metal handled broom to keep the dog off him with. So, needless to say, we had to have him PTS. After we had him PTS I found out he bit 5 people while my parents were keeping him!

My Chow mix had to go back to my parents after my commander forbade me to have any more dogs.

This was my experience with dogs in the military. But I was a single airman, so it was harder for my dogs & I. However, married people's pets don't seem to have it so hot either - there are ads at the vet offices & in the paper all the time for dogs "free to good home" b/c their family cannot take them to their new base when they PCS.

Blessings ...

[duceswild]

ok...here's the thing. Everyone I know (I'm an active duty wife) is smart enough to know that SINGLE soldiers shouldn't have pets without a backup plan.

I've know several single soldiers who have dogs and their parents or another friend keeps their dog for training/deployments. My house has been home to several different dogs while their owners are gone for shorter training (1-4 weeks).

The rest of the soldiers are married and are smart enough to let their wives make the decisions of pets simply because they will be the ones home and dealing with them. While I've heard a lot of stories...I haven't heard of any personally who have dealt with it. I even know one couple who are both active duty and did a joint deployment last year. Both of their dogs went to spend a year with family and they are all together once again.

Also, if you are lower enlisted and not married then you are living in the barracks then you are not allowed any pets. So either you are married or at least 24/25 and should be smart enough to think ahead. I have NO sympathy for those who have to go through this (other than the case where the wife leaves and the soldier is stuck).

ETA: I have two APBTs and a cat. I've had them for the last three year without any issues. You just have to fight a little harder to find a place to live with pits, but it's not impossible.

[hujdrftgkas]

ranea thats is completely untrue. military wives by the PLENTY have gotten rid of their dogs because "they dont wanna deal with their dogs while hubby is gone" or my favorite, "we're PCSing (stateside) and we cant take them with"

[Celeliamend]

I don't have any experiences to share however, you may want to contact the following group, I'm quite confident they'll be able to help you with countless number of experiences...

Guardian Angels for Soldiers' Pet

Good Luck with your school work!

[Opinion_counts]

Thank you all so much for your sharing, keep them coming!!! PBH, amazing resource thank you.

[priordine]

[quote]ranea thats is completely untrue. military wives by the PLENTY have gotten rid of their dogs because "they dont wanna deal with their dogs while hubby is gone" or my favorite, "we're PCSing (stateside) and we cant take them with"

[sadgpokx]

[quote]ranea thats is completely untrue. military wives by the PLENTY have gotten rid of their dogs because "they dont wanna deal with their dogs while hubby is gone" or my favorite, "we're PCSing (stateside) and we cant take them with"

[glamourcitys]

I know a guy here http://www.bulldogbreeds.com/forum/ who is currently keeping an American Bulldog for a friend that is deployed and has kept the same dog in the past for the same reason. When I first went there I actually thought both dogs were his because he had his buddy's dog so often. You could go there and post the same thread and see what you get.

Another angle you might want to try for your report is the military base banns of certain breeds forcing soldiers to give up pets when they have already been through so much in service to the country.

[gogona]

they used to tell us, that if it was not "issue" it was not for us to have...
and they reminded us often that wives did not come in our duffel bag.

[hujdrftgkas]

Untrue? This is what she said:



That's kind of an open-ended statement and it very well could be that the wife ok'd getting the dog but then realized how much of a hassle and/or how much work it would be all on her own, thus ending up in the situation which you have described.

i didnt read that although im sorry but i will not feel sorry for anyone who makes that excuse to get rid of their pets by blaming it on the military. i do JUST fine with all of mine, and when theres a problem, they go to the vets. or my family, or his family, or my friends, or last resort, a neighbor takes care of them for a bit. they should know getting into this work, they NEED to have backups. but theyre just using it to make people feel sorry for them. sorry.

[priordine]

they used to tell us, that if it was not "issue" it was not for us to have...
and they reminded us often that wives did not come in our duffel bag.

I remember them telling us that when we were being trained by the Army! lol, too bad it is not like that any more.

I remember many a time I was asked to work a holiday or go on a TDY soley on the basis of my being single & "xxx had a family" (like I didn't!). Nowadays they screw the single troops (or at least they did where I was at). If you are single you can bet you're going to be the first to have holidays taken away or be sent TDY first. Sickening.

Blessings ...

[Zaebal]

I'm sorry but I don't think wives giving up a dog because it's hard to do it on their own while the husband is deployed is acceptable. It's been often said that raising a dog is similar to having a baby. To me that's like giving up one of your kids because It was frustrating to wake up in the middle of the night by myself to feed my son while my wife was at work. It's not the dogs fault that the wife or husband doesn't have the dedication to train the dog, walk the dog everyday so it doesn't tear up the house. Granted I can understand if you have kids it can get dificult at times. I'm a married man in the navy with a two year old. An APBT and a huahua mix. And have been on...(thinking) two, two week training duties. One 8 month long deployment. And my wife had nothing but minor problems, but nothing she could handle.

But if you have no dependents then sorry no excuses.

[duceswild]

[quote]ranea thats is completely untrue. military wives by the PLENTY have gotten rid of their dogs because "they dont wanna deal with their dogs while hubby is gone" or my favorite, "we're PCSing (stateside) and we cant take them with"

[hujdrftgkas]

not to mention most of the bases themselves do not ban the breed, but instead the privatized housing that has nothing to do with the base bans them. not to mention like i keep repeating to people, base housing is usually crap and you lose more money living there than you would to live off base and drive. not to mention the yard rules.. barf.

[jaydicassdhy]

2 years ago, our rescue adopted a beautiful pit to a married military man with a wife and kids. His service in Iraq is coming to an end and he is now being sent to Germany. Evidently this was a surprise transfer. The wife is selling the house and getting ready to move. No small feat by herself. She not only returned the pit to the rescue, but the GSD they also had. I understand and appreciate their sacrifice for our country, but these were grown people who did not have a back up plan for their animals. Sadly, we now think twice before adopting out to military families. My husband and I do not have family or friends prepared to take on our animals in the event of our death (or even if we decided to live in Germany for a year) and have left instructions that all should be put down in that situation. We all have a responsibility to prepare for the worst.

[glamourcitys]

I hate to say it...but that's a sad excuse for people. Most places that you rent do not allow pit bulls and other breeds. On base/post you rent. It's as simple as that. You are not forced into on post housing and therefore you are not forced into giving up any pets. You can always find somewhere off post that will allow you to have your pit.

not to mention most of the bases themselves do not ban the breed, but instead the privatized housing that has nothing to do with the base bans them. not to mention like i keep repeating to people, base housing is usually crap and you lose more money living there than you would to live off base and drive. not to mention the yard rules.. barf.

Now, I am not in the service nor have I served in the past. I do have 3 family members who are currently serving and they claim it is much less expensive to live on post. One of them has a wife and 3 kids and he says that he literally cannot afford to live off post even with his wife working part time. And believe me, they have crunched the numbers because he wants to go career and his wife wants him to finish up his obligation and go back to civillian life simply because she hates on base housing with a passion usually reserved for chocolate.

What baffles me is that this is the freaking US government. You'd think they would defend our soldiers freedom to keep their dog of choice when living in government subsidized housing.

I also don't see "its too hard to do it alone" as an excuse to give up a pet. Many single parents raise their kids and keep their pets. There are other careers that seperate spouses for long periods of time and those people manage. If a military spouse gives up a pet because "its too hard" thats no different than someone else using the same excuse.

[sadgpokx]

i didnt read that although im sorry but i will not feel sorry for anyone who makes that excuse to get rid of their pets by blaming it on the military. i do JUST fine with all of mine, and when theres a problem, they go to the vets. or my family, or his family, or my friends, or last resort, a neighbor takes care of them for a bit. they should know getting into this work, they NEED to have backups. but theyre just using it to make people feel sorry for them. sorry.

This is a tricky situation for me. While I don't normally tolerate lame excuses, I do want an animal to be in the best situation for it....and sometimes being gotten rid of by its owner is best.

Also, I have many, many military friends. All have dogs. While I am an open door for foster for military folks (and that goes for people on this forum), I understand that you cannot just tell your superior that you're not going to Iraq because you have to stay home and care for Foofy. And I have a friend who had a dog from me who got moved to a base in Colorado. Guess what? NO "pit bulls" allowed. And there were NO off-base places within an hour's travel time that allowed them either. So I gladly took the dog back and rehomed him. And no, I will not cast stones at my friend nor will I accuse him of being some lazy dog-dumping asshole.

And remember, you are just YOU. Your situation is individual to you. You do not know anyone else. You do not know what they are going through. You do not know what they have tried and have not tried to rectify the situation. So before you cast stones, make sure your house is not made of glass.

[Zaebal]

Really poetic.