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Pets faring well in wartime By Amber Fossen Ashland Daily Tidings As the nation watches the U.S. invasion of Iraq unfold overseas, local animal shelters are standing by. The Committed Alliance To Strays (CATS), Jackson County Animal Care and Control Center and Southern Oregon Humane Society are paying close attention to pet needs and population sizes as more and more Oregonians are called off to war. Local shelters note no rise in the number of incoming animals, but they are preparing for the war's potential to both create and eliminate stable homes for pets. According to Colleen Macuk, animal care and control program manager, the Talent-based animal shelter is currently seeing fewer animals come in from deployed troops than in the first Gulf War in 1991. "We had quite a few people come in that received orders that they had to ship out by a certain date and they had no one to care for their pets so they had to bring them to the shelter," Macuk said, recalling Operation Desert Storm. "They not only had to be shipped out of the country, but they also had to leave their best friends behind." According to Major Arnold V. Strong, public affairs officer for the Oregon National Guard, approximately 350 air and ground troops were deployed to serve in Desert Storm. To date, 1,600 air and ground troops from Oregon have been deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom. Macuk said the shelter was not prepared for the impact Desert Storm had on pet displacement but has since set up a system of foster homes so returning troops would be able to come back not only to their families, but their pets as well. The shelter was prepared to foster military pets this time around, but the need has not presented itself. "They (troops) had enough forewarning and preparation to think ahead and make arrangements," Macuk said. "I think that the community at large has done a marvelous job to help out those folks." While the animal shelter is making arrangements to foster pets, CATS is finding more families adopting pets to fill the void left by departing family members called to duty, according to program director Jan Whetstone. She said the shelter only houses stray or abandoned pets so they have not encountered troops needing temporary care for their pets. "I get a lot of people coming in who's one family member or another is going overseas and they want to make sure their families have a cat or kitten to dote over while they're gone," Whetstone said. "Probably within the last two months, I had a man come in, in fact he was in his Marine's uniform, with his young son who I believe was six and had wanted a cat for a long time." Whetstone said the boy now has a cat that was picked out with his dad, who has been sent overseas. "Sometimes people, especially children, need to have something they can hold and love in order to feel safe. It's critical that we give the children, and the adults as well, something positive to focus on and that's what we hope we're doing here," Whetstone said. Whetstone said the shelter does not house-sit pets, but should any troops need that service it would be arranged. Each of the shelters operates independently, but they will coordinate if the needs of the surrounding community outweigh the services provided at any one location. According to Bob Brooks, director of development and communications for the Southern Oregon Humane Society, staff members are on alert for possible increases in pet population and care. He said the shelter does have some foster homes thanks to volunteers. However, if more homes were needed, help would be there. "We (area shelters) do work together," Brooks said. "We're all working for the same cause." LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -