Ratchet Is a Dog (let the hate email continue)

I decided to not only discuss Ratchet/Baghdad Pups with the shelter where I volunteer and the veterinarian practice where I work, but go through my dog-loving neighborhood in an attempt to collect money for Baghdad Pups and directing people to Ratchet’s issue. It never occurred to me that my area would have the same hateful remarks because a dog is from Iraq. Even a fellow volunteer who is a staunch pro-war conservative agreed to donate money and support Ratchet. I wish people would understand this is not a liberal/conservative, anti-war/pro-war issue, it’s about getting a loved companion to safety.

I am a senior NCO in the National Guard, as well as a dog lover and an OIF vet (2004). Most of the dogs I saw in Iraq were unvaccinated, un-neutered, timid strays. A problem was that many soldiers ‘adopted’ these dogs during their deployment, and the dogs became dependent on the soldiers for food and affection. Once the soldiers left, the confused dogs were again left to fend for themselves. Also, since they were unvaccinated, they carried the possibility of spreading diseases such as rabies, parvo, and leishiomiosis (a nasty parasitic disease common to the middle East). This is one reason that General Order 1A specifically prohibits making friends with furry animals. Those soldiers who violate this order are putting themselves and their fellow soldiers at risk. The young SGT is no exception even though the story tugs at our hearts. She should have known that this would be a story with a possibly unhappy ending. That’s one of the things she signed up for - to follow lawful orders.

Unless you’ve been in the military and responsible for the welfare and health of soldiers in your charge, I couldn’t expect you to possibly understand that such a seemingly small thing as adopting a dog could put fellow soldiers at risk. On top of all that, I am mature enough to have seen ahead to the day I had to leave and chose not to break my own heart by making temporary friends with a dog I knew I would have to someday leave behind. Perhaps the SGT should have also considered that.

I hope that you don’t take this as ‘hate mail.’ I just thought I’d give you the other argument to a sad situation. Do I have an answer to the suffering dogs in Iraq? No, and neither do you. Why don’t we start at home?

What is the problem with bringing home a dog if you make sure it is healthy before taking it back to the US and paying the way to send the dog back the US.
It is astonishing for people to be treating this dog as though there must be something wrong with it since it came from Iraq. A person states that he say “most” dogs there as being timid and not taken care of, obviously Ratchet does not compare to the “most” that he has seen.
This dog is obviously loved and has created a bit of stability for the soldier that befriended him. He is a hero because he helped a person to feel more at home.
People bond with pets and that bond is devasting when broken. No one should be chastising Bebger (sp?) for loving a dog and wanting to bring it home.
In no way has it been seen that she ignored her duties as a solider while caring for this dog.

I am one of those who helped start this media attention because I am a dog rescue person here in the U.S. and
a retired animal control officer.

The SPCA has a team that was going to take this dog last week. The dog’s expenses were paid for, the proper shots and medicines given, a place for quarantine prior to U.S. entry available and a commitment for a full time home in the U.S. identified. The SPCA has lots of procedures and criteria to protect the animal and it’s travel home.

There was no cost to the Army. No reason to not allow the dog to get on the flight. They just wanted to make an example. And there have been instances of 50 other dogs that have gone this way, without the cost to the Army or taxpayers.

Gwen violated the orders, which has been addressed by her superiors.

Gwen comes home the end of this month after serving an extended “stopgap” tour. No reason Ratchett can’t come
home with the soldier that pulled him from a fire and cared for him. No cost to anybody. A real shame for a soldier to
become attached to a pet in such a terrible place and have
the dog killed or taken away to prove a point. A point that
harms a defenseless animal.

I don’t believe it’s realistic to have the military pay for vet care,
shipment of animals home etc. at the cost of thousands per
critter, but when the expenses and transportation are fully covered by the SPCA, then why not bring the pet home?

I think the military should allow the SPCA to bring Ratchet to the United States. It is not costing the Army a dime, and I think they are only keeping Ratchet from Gwen to make an example of her and to be deliberately cruel. I don’t think this kind of behavior is a good example to others. It doesn’t make the US military look good, and as a social worker I would have to say that any person who is so invested in their own control issues –ie Gwen’s commanding officers– are not people who I think deserve to be in a position of command. Jody Johnson, LPC, M.S.Ed

Then it just occured to me. If the Army is holding this dog. They are violating their own rules and regulations. It seems as though he is a dog that belongs to the Army now. Or maybe they are holding him hostage. The sgt isnt even paying for the expenses and the SPCA is technically saving the dog from Iraq, not the our Army. So what business is it to the Army? What business it is of the Army’s to even care who the SPCA adopts the dog to in the US, even if it is one of their soldiers. Having the dog and caring for it while on duty is the violation of Army rules. The SPCA (not associated with the Army) deciding to rescue this dog is not.