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My old neighborhood was full of military families, due to the large naval base nearby. Aside from the license plates from myriad states, military-related bumper stickers, and the occasional person in some kind of uniform, it was just like any other neighborhood. That included the large number of pets in many of the homes.
Another thing we saw a lot in our development was moving trucks. That’s just a fact of life in a military town. Once in a while mine or another rescue is contacted by a moving family that can’t take their pet where they’re going. These families aren’t necessarily military, but sometimes if families are going overseas for a long period of time they think it’s better for the pet to surrender it than to take it.
That got me thinking: what about military personnel going on deployment? I’m always a firm believer that one shouldn’t get pets until one is in a stable situation for keeping them, but on the other hand, it doesn’t seem fair that people serving their country can’t have the comfort and companionship of an animal.
Enter Operation Noble Foster and NetPets’ Military Pets Foster Project. These two organizations are specifically dedicated to finding long-term foster homes for the pets of service men and women. In most ordinary foster situations foster families agree to care for a pet in their home until a permanent situation is found for that pet. In the case of Noble Foster and Military Pets Foster, families agree to look after a pet for the length of its owner’s deployment.
It can’t be that uncommon for a service man or woman to not have family or friends that can take care of his or her pet on a long-term basis. If they have no one to turn to, they can contact one of these two groups. Operation Noble Foster deals only in cats, and NetPets handles dogs and birds (and perhaps other animals as well). If you sign up to be a foster for one of these programs, you’re agreeing to bring that pet into your home for the duration of the service man or woman’s deployment. Unlike with traditional fostering, you can’t adopt that pet if you decide you want to keep it: it goes back to its true owner when he or she returns.
When I heard about these programs I just assumed that the foster families would pay for most of the pets’ costs during the length of their fostering. It’s certainly something I would be willing to do under the circumstances. However, the FAQ on Operation Noble Foster’s website says that most military personnel and their pet foster families work out agreements beforehand, wherein the owner pre-pays for veterinary costs and food/litter, that sort of thing. Many families decide to just provide the latter themselves (often because they already have pets), but it’s nice that the foster organizations have a system worked out.
Now I have yet another cause on my list of things I want to support. I want to foster the kittens that my local rescue currently has, I want to adopt a disabled pet, and now I want to be a foster the pets of military personnel. I guess I’ll just have to keep thinking about where I’m most led. If you have space in your home for a pet but aren’t sure if you want a completely permanent commitment, please consider the very worthy cause of being a noble foster.
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*(This image by Photographer’s Mate 3rd Class Mark J. Rebilas is from Beverly & Pack’s Flickr and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.)
