Pet Policy Gives Army - And US - A Black Eye
Doris Lin reports that Ratchet is en route to the United States, courtesy the SPCA.
From New Zealand: "A rescued Iraqi puppy is making its way into the hearts of thousands of people all over the world."
That's because the U.S. Defense Department prohibits military personnel from adopting pets (although exceptions have been made). The Army also prohibits soldiers from bringing any adopted pet home. Enter the SPCA, which has helped more than 50 four-legged companions come home to the States since last September.
As of this writing, almost 45,000 people have signed an online petition asking that Ratchet, a rescued pup, be able to accompany Sergeant Gwen Beberg, 28, when she returns home from Iraq later this year.
Beberg and another soldier rescued the 4-week old puppy from a pile of burning trash on Mother's Day. Beberg contacted Operation Rescue Pup for help, and on October 1 she put him in a convoy to the Baghdad Airport, where Operation Rescue Pup would take care of getting him to the States.
But Ratchet was confiscated "by a U.S. officer before [he] could reach the Baghdad International Airport." In the wake of worldwide attention, the Army has confirmed that the puppy is still alive but has not released his whereabouts.
Northwest Airlines has offered to fly Ratchet from Kuwait to Minneapolis.
Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN-5), Beberg's Congressman, asked the Army last week to review the case.
On Sunday, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported that Beberg "enlisted in the Army for a three-year stint while she was still a student at Luther College in Iowa... Her three-year enlistment was extended by the Army's Stop-Loss policy last year and she was sent to Iraq."
Terri Crisp, program director of Operation Baghdad Pups, said the group has gotten 56 dogs and cats that had been adopted by military personnel out of Iraq... On Oct. 1, the group had flown to Baghdad to get Ratchet and 14 other animals after suspending operations during the heat of summer. Crisp said the group has tried to keep a low profile so there's no "ruckus" over the Army's no-pet rule.
"There are commanding officers there who are animal lovers and recognize that these animals make a difference," Crisp said. "We've had high-ranking officials bring out animals themselves."
Ratchet, she said, has been the only animal confiscated once the evacuation process had begun, but at least 36 other animals that soldiers were trying to get out of Iraq have been destroyed.
The SPCA hasn't entered into this program lightly. They have a clear set of rules on animal eligibility and pet owner requirements, not unlike the rules that domestic pet adoption agencies follow. (We have a rescue cat.)
On one level, I can understand the Army policy. It's a lot easier to "just say no" than to deal with the headache (and paperwork) involved with transporting an animal across international lines. (We've taken our dog with us on vacation to the Bahamas.) But I don't understand why the Army would actively interfere with a third party -- like the SPCA -- helping with a rescue as it sounds like someone did with Ratchet.
On the web: learn about Operation Baghdad Pups; sign the online petition for Ratchet.