While most of us realize the impact on the families left behind when a loved one in the military is deployed, many don’t think about the pets left behind.
NetPets, founded by Steve Albin and endorsed by the Department of Defense, matches people willing to care for pets to deploying service members in need of their generosity.
It’s easy to assume that there is always family or a friend to leave their beloved pet with, but that’s not always the case.
“I had people tell me how service members called up for the first Gulf War had just three options: giving their pets away, putting them in shelters or abandoning them,” Albin said. “More than 25,000 pets were destroyed. What kind of way is that for us to repay the people who protect and serve us?”
Steve is right, those men and women that are serving our country, the last thing they should be burdened with is worrying about who is going to care for their beloved pet.
So far, his free service has placed some 12,500 pets into foster homes since he began the project two days after the 9/11 attacks, Albin said by telephone last week from South Carolina.
Steve stated “He gets 20 to 50 calls a week in CONUS (continental United States), but that right now he had no one available in Europe.”
People wishing to help out can sign up by clicking the Military Pets Foster Project tab on the netpets.org homepage. The site contains a form establishing what kind of pets the potential foster home can accommodate.
We salute you Steve, for a job well done.
