Save the Life of a Soldier's Dog Seized by the Military

by Stephanie Ernst · 2008-10-10 14:11:00 UTC
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Update: Take action here.
Edit: The original post indicated that the soldier has been in Iraq 15 months, but I made an error in my rush to get this out: she has been in Iraq 15 months beyond her original commitment to the army because of the stop-loss policy.

Ratchet

Time could be running out for the beloved dog companion of an American soldier stationed in Iraq. The dog was on his way to the airport with Baghdad Pups, along with 15 other dogs, to be flown back to the United States, where he was to live with the soldier's parents until she comes home later this month, after serving in Iraq 15-plus months beyond her original military commitment (because of the stop-loss policy). But the commanding officers of the soldier's base, upon learning of this, actually stopped the convoy and removed the dog:

It is against military regulations for active duty troops to befriend animals—soldiers can face immediate court-marshal and some even see their animals brutally murdered by a direct gunshot to the head from commanding officers who will not bend the rules. Hundreds of U.S. soldiers in the Middle East befriend animals in the war zone to help themselves cope with the hardship and terror they face every day. These dogs and cats become their lifeline—saving them from deep depression and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

The military refuses to help or formally recognize the lifeline these animals give to our mentally wounded soldiers. Veterans returned from Iraq are committing suicide at twice the rate of average Americans. The dogs and cats befriended by our troops rescued by Operation Baghdad Pups are providing proven pet therapy to soldiers who may otherwise suffer from PTSD and deep depression. (SPCA press release)

Please read the following post on Ratchet's time-sensitive situation and what you can do to help: How You Can Help Save a Soldier's Dog. There will be a Change.org action up by late tonight, but in the meantime, if you are able, please follow the suggestions for how you can help and whom you can contact in this Help Ratchet post.

Thanks to Kinship Circle for sending out an alert about this.

Stephanie Ernst wrote the original Animal Rights blog at Change.org until December 2009. She can now be found at Animal Rights & AntiOppression.
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