thedrifter
03-28-08, 08:13 AM
REGION: Adopting Iraqi dogs violates military order
By: GARY WARTH - Staff Writer
Act of compassion defended; troops suggest some commanders look the other way
NORTH COUNTY ---- Stories about American troops adopting stray dogs in Iraq are heartwarming, but raise questions about whether the effort and expense is justified when so many dogs in the U.S. have no home.
Organizers of some adoption drives defend the practice as beneficial to troops, but also acknowledge the military's rules forbid troops from keeping pets in Iraq.
"They're risking a lot by keeping these animals," said Stephanie Scroggs, spokeswoman for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals International in Washington, D.C. "That is really a testament to how important they are to these soldiers."
The military's rule against the practice is clear: "Adopting as pets or mascots, caring for, or feeding any type of domestic or wild animal" was banned by U.S. Army Gen. Tommy Franks in 2000.
The order applies to all troops in the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia and remains in effect today.
Scroggs said helping bring a dog to the United States can help a troop get out of hot water for keeping it as a pet on base.
"We've had soldiers contact us in a panic, saying 'I have to abandon this dog unless you guys can get in here and help,' " she said.
Army Specialist Charles Espie, a multi-national force spokesman in Baghdad, said this week that the 2000 order addressing dog adoptions is still followed, although there have been lapses.
"The official response is we do go by General Order Number 1A," he said during a telephone interview, citing the specific rule. "But obviously, if you look into it, there are instances where it doesn't happen."
While the rule is frustrating for troops who want to adopt cute and friendly puppies, Espie said it's there to protect them from violent and diseased strays that run free in Iraq.
"It's actually to protect the solders' safety," he said. "The animals over here are foreign to us."
While the rule is strictly adhered to in Baghdad, Espie said, ignoring it seems to occur in more remote outposts around the country.
A Marine Corps official at the Pentagon said any questions about the dog adoption policy on its bases in Iraq need to be addressed by officials there. Efforts to get comment from a Marine spokesman in Iraq were not immediately successful.
'Overlook the rules'
Sacramento's Terri Crisp, program manager of Operation Baghdad Pups which was formed last year by SPCA International and a group called I Love Dogs to assist troops with bringing dogs back to the U.S., acknowledged the military directive is being ignored.
"We realize that there are rules, but there are times to overlook the rules," she said during a telephone interview this week, adding that there has been some sympathy for their efforts within the military's higher ranks.
"There are commanders who were willing to look the other way, who said, 'I'm going to turn my back for 20 minutes, and you do what you have to do and don't tell me anything about it.' "
The program has brought six dogs to the U.S. and is working to bring 35 more, said Crisp, who stressed that Operation Baghdad Pups started in response to troops who contacted the SPCA International for help.
"What do you say to these soldiers?" she said. "We didn't go looking for this, but being an animal-rescue operation, whenever someone contacts us, we have to look at it."
Locally, Miramar Marine Corps Air Station-based Maj. Brian Dennis raised $3,500 to bring home Nubs, a German shepherd-border collie mix he befriended while on patrol in the Anbar province last October. The two were reunited in San Diego on March 22.
In another rescue, Marines in working with Iraqis on border security adopted seven puppies.
Marine Capt. Jamisen Fox, who adopted two of the puppies, said this week he was not violating any military rules because he was on an Iraqi base along the Syrian border about 210 miles from Baghdad late last year.
"This base happened to have some dogs," he said.
Putting down dogs
In stories about his dog, Dennis was quoted as saying he had been told by commanders to get Nubs off his base in four days or have him killed.
Fox, however, said this week that in his two years in Iraq, he never saw such an extreme measure carried out.
Dangerous dogs or those running loose on a runway may have to be shot, he said, but an injured or diseased stray more likely would be humanely euthanized by an Army veterinarian on base to care for military dogs.
"You have to remember that these are Americans, and 99.9 percent of Americans love animals," he said. "We're talking last resort."
But Crisp maintained that dogs have been killed just for being on base. In one instance, she said a soldier claimed his puppy sneaked back on base one too many times and was killed.
"His e-mail (to his mother) said, 'I have sacrificed so much for this country, and all I asked in return was to bring a puppy home, and they took that from me,'" Crisp said.
She said she plans to ask the military to consider the adoptable dogs as "force-protection" canines while the paperwork is being processed.
"Each military unit is allowed to have a force-protection canine," she said. "Basically, they want them around to bark."
The cost, the reward
Bringing dogs from Iraq to the U.S. can cost more than $4,000 for transportation and security. With so many dogs already waiting for adoption in America, Crisp acknowledged that some people have questioned the practice.
"We do have people e-mail us and say, 'How dare you?'" Crisp said. "But I don't think six dogs are going to keep many dogs here from getting a home."
Patty Brook, spokeswoman for the Rancho Coastal Humane Society, which cared for Fox's puppies and Dennis' dog when they first arrived earlier this month, also defended the adoptions.
"These Americans have already adopted the dogs, so in a sense they are American dogs," she said.
All of the adoptions, locally and the ones organized by Operation Baghdad Pups, were funded by private donations.
Brook, Crisp and Scroggs said criticizing the expense misses the point.
"I think it is a lot to spend on an animal, but I think that it's worth it because the troops are sacrificing so much for us," Scroggs said. "These relationships are able to help our soldiers get through really tough times in a war zone."
Scroggs said one female soldier told her that having a dog in Iraq was the only thing that kept her from becoming callous toward life.
Fox said an unexpected benefit of the relationship between American troops and dogs may be a change in how Iraqis view animals.
"A majority of the people do not have pet dogs or pet cats," he said. "Iraqis, if a dog is wild and in their way, will shoot it with no hesitation."
But after watching Americans play with puppies in camp, young Iraqis were beginning to see dogs in a new light.
"I would absolutely, positively guarantee that the young Iraqis were picking up on our relationship with dogs," he said. "They were thinking, 'These things aren't all bad. They're kind of fun to play with.'"
Ellie
By: GARY WARTH - Staff Writer
Act of compassion defended; troops suggest some commanders look the other way
NORTH COUNTY ---- Stories about American troops adopting stray dogs in Iraq are heartwarming, but raise questions about whether the effort and expense is justified when so many dogs in the U.S. have no home.
Organizers of some adoption drives defend the practice as beneficial to troops, but also acknowledge the military's rules forbid troops from keeping pets in Iraq.
"They're risking a lot by keeping these animals," said Stephanie Scroggs, spokeswoman for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals International in Washington, D.C. "That is really a testament to how important they are to these soldiers."
The military's rule against the practice is clear: "Adopting as pets or mascots, caring for, or feeding any type of domestic or wild animal" was banned by U.S. Army Gen. Tommy Franks in 2000.
The order applies to all troops in the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia and remains in effect today.
Scroggs said helping bring a dog to the United States can help a troop get out of hot water for keeping it as a pet on base.
"We've had soldiers contact us in a panic, saying 'I have to abandon this dog unless you guys can get in here and help,' " she said.
Army Specialist Charles Espie, a multi-national force spokesman in Baghdad, said this week that the 2000 order addressing dog adoptions is still followed, although there have been lapses.
"The official response is we do go by General Order Number 1A," he said during a telephone interview, citing the specific rule. "But obviously, if you look into it, there are instances where it doesn't happen."
While the rule is frustrating for troops who want to adopt cute and friendly puppies, Espie said it's there to protect them from violent and diseased strays that run free in Iraq.
"It's actually to protect the solders' safety," he said. "The animals over here are foreign to us."
While the rule is strictly adhered to in Baghdad, Espie said, ignoring it seems to occur in more remote outposts around the country.
A Marine Corps official at the Pentagon said any questions about the dog adoption policy on its bases in Iraq need to be addressed by officials there. Efforts to get comment from a Marine spokesman in Iraq were not immediately successful.
'Overlook the rules'
Sacramento's Terri Crisp, program manager of Operation Baghdad Pups which was formed last year by SPCA International and a group called I Love Dogs to assist troops with bringing dogs back to the U.S., acknowledged the military directive is being ignored.
"We realize that there are rules, but there are times to overlook the rules," she said during a telephone interview this week, adding that there has been some sympathy for their efforts within the military's higher ranks.
"There are commanders who were willing to look the other way, who said, 'I'm going to turn my back for 20 minutes, and you do what you have to do and don't tell me anything about it.' "
The program has brought six dogs to the U.S. and is working to bring 35 more, said Crisp, who stressed that Operation Baghdad Pups started in response to troops who contacted the SPCA International for help.
"What do you say to these soldiers?" she said. "We didn't go looking for this, but being an animal-rescue operation, whenever someone contacts us, we have to look at it."
Locally, Miramar Marine Corps Air Station-based Maj. Brian Dennis raised $3,500 to bring home Nubs, a German shepherd-border collie mix he befriended while on patrol in the Anbar province last October. The two were reunited in San Diego on March 22.
In another rescue, Marines in working with Iraqis on border security adopted seven puppies.
Marine Capt. Jamisen Fox, who adopted two of the puppies, said this week he was not violating any military rules because he was on an Iraqi base along the Syrian border about 210 miles from Baghdad late last year.
"This base happened to have some dogs," he said.
Putting down dogs
In stories about his dog, Dennis was quoted as saying he had been told by commanders to get Nubs off his base in four days or have him killed.
Fox, however, said this week that in his two years in Iraq, he never saw such an extreme measure carried out.
Dangerous dogs or those running loose on a runway may have to be shot, he said, but an injured or diseased stray more likely would be humanely euthanized by an Army veterinarian on base to care for military dogs.
"You have to remember that these are Americans, and 99.9 percent of Americans love animals," he said. "We're talking last resort."
But Crisp maintained that dogs have been killed just for being on base. In one instance, she said a soldier claimed his puppy sneaked back on base one too many times and was killed.
"His e-mail (to his mother) said, 'I have sacrificed so much for this country, and all I asked in return was to bring a puppy home, and they took that from me,'" Crisp said.
She said she plans to ask the military to consider the adoptable dogs as "force-protection" canines while the paperwork is being processed.
"Each military unit is allowed to have a force-protection canine," she said. "Basically, they want them around to bark."
The cost, the reward
Bringing dogs from Iraq to the U.S. can cost more than $4,000 for transportation and security. With so many dogs already waiting for adoption in America, Crisp acknowledged that some people have questioned the practice.
"We do have people e-mail us and say, 'How dare you?'" Crisp said. "But I don't think six dogs are going to keep many dogs here from getting a home."
Patty Brook, spokeswoman for the Rancho Coastal Humane Society, which cared for Fox's puppies and Dennis' dog when they first arrived earlier this month, also defended the adoptions.
"These Americans have already adopted the dogs, so in a sense they are American dogs," she said.
All of the adoptions, locally and the ones organized by Operation Baghdad Pups, were funded by private donations.
Brook, Crisp and Scroggs said criticizing the expense misses the point.
"I think it is a lot to spend on an animal, but I think that it's worth it because the troops are sacrificing so much for us," Scroggs said. "These relationships are able to help our soldiers get through really tough times in a war zone."
Scroggs said one female soldier told her that having a dog in Iraq was the only thing that kept her from becoming callous toward life.
Fox said an unexpected benefit of the relationship between American troops and dogs may be a change in how Iraqis view animals.
"A majority of the people do not have pet dogs or pet cats," he said. "Iraqis, if a dog is wild and in their way, will shoot it with no hesitation."
But after watching Americans play with puppies in camp, young Iraqis were beginning to see dogs in a new light.
"I would absolutely, positively guarantee that the young Iraqis were picking up on our relationship with dogs," he said. "They were thinking, 'These things aren't all bad. They're kind of fun to play with.'"
Ellie