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04-10-2005, 02:11 PM
Posted on Sat, Apr. 09, 2005
Dogs of War - Army town struggles to save pets left by troops
RUSS BYNUM
Associated Press
HINESVILLE, Ga. - The 32 dogs look up with sad eyes or wag their tails as animal control officer Linda Cordry walks the row of chain-link cages ending in a door concealing a gas chamber that resembles a large oven.
"These guys are mine," Cordry says with weary resignation. "These are basically on Death Row."
Liberty County Animal Control and the humane shelter that shares its small cinderblock building have been crammed to capacity with dogs and cats since Army troops from neighboring Fort Stewart deployed to Iraq. Both agencies say it's no coincidence.
"I would say 95 percent of these animals come from military homes," says Beate Hall, who runs the humane shelter where dozens of soldiers and Army spouses began dumping pets during the holidays.
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have prompted national efforts to alert deploying soldiers to alternatives to abandoning animals when they leave for war. But the hundreds of unwanted pets turning up in this southeast Georgia military town indicate many aren't getting the message.
Since the Fort Stewart-based 3rd Infantry Division deployed 19,000 troops to Iraq in January, animal control officers took in 321 abandoned dogs and cats. Of those, 119 have been euthanized.
Smells of dank fur, urine and bleach linger inside the Animal Control offices, where donated food in dented cans and torn bags are stacked in a corner. Dogs are doubled up in several of the 4-by-10-feet cages that allow some room for running. None are empty. Neither are the 14 cat cages, two of which hold mothers with litters of nursing kittens.
Cordry says she's found an abundance of dogs in predominantly military neighborhoods - from emaciated dogs in back yards of vacated homes to puppies left in Dumpsters.
She says many of the abandoned pets she finds are wearing collars, but with their tags removed. Animals with collars get up to 10 days before they're euthanized. Those without collars are spared for only three days.
"We get in so many with personalities, we know they had to belong to somebody," Cordry says. "It's hard to say, `Today's euthanasia day - let's load them up and go for it.'"
In Hall's case, soldiers and their families have come to the humane shelter in person to leave their dogs and cats. Those pets won't be put down, but Hall only has room to keep 45 animals at a time. Though Hall has found homes for 118 pets since January, the shelter remains full.
More on this Story (http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/special_packages/iraq/11354746.htm)
Dogs of War - Army town struggles to save pets left by troops
RUSS BYNUM
Associated Press
HINESVILLE, Ga. - The 32 dogs look up with sad eyes or wag their tails as animal control officer Linda Cordry walks the row of chain-link cages ending in a door concealing a gas chamber that resembles a large oven.
"These guys are mine," Cordry says with weary resignation. "These are basically on Death Row."
Liberty County Animal Control and the humane shelter that shares its small cinderblock building have been crammed to capacity with dogs and cats since Army troops from neighboring Fort Stewart deployed to Iraq. Both agencies say it's no coincidence.
"I would say 95 percent of these animals come from military homes," says Beate Hall, who runs the humane shelter where dozens of soldiers and Army spouses began dumping pets during the holidays.
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have prompted national efforts to alert deploying soldiers to alternatives to abandoning animals when they leave for war. But the hundreds of unwanted pets turning up in this southeast Georgia military town indicate many aren't getting the message.
Since the Fort Stewart-based 3rd Infantry Division deployed 19,000 troops to Iraq in January, animal control officers took in 321 abandoned dogs and cats. Of those, 119 have been euthanized.
Smells of dank fur, urine and bleach linger inside the Animal Control offices, where donated food in dented cans and torn bags are stacked in a corner. Dogs are doubled up in several of the 4-by-10-feet cages that allow some room for running. None are empty. Neither are the 14 cat cages, two of which hold mothers with litters of nursing kittens.
Cordry says she's found an abundance of dogs in predominantly military neighborhoods - from emaciated dogs in back yards of vacated homes to puppies left in Dumpsters.
She says many of the abandoned pets she finds are wearing collars, but with their tags removed. Animals with collars get up to 10 days before they're euthanized. Those without collars are spared for only three days.
"We get in so many with personalities, we know they had to belong to somebody," Cordry says. "It's hard to say, `Today's euthanasia day - let's load them up and go for it.'"
In Hall's case, soldiers and their families have come to the humane shelter in person to leave their dogs and cats. Those pets won't be put down, but Hall only has room to keep 45 animals at a time. Though Hall has found homes for 118 pets since January, the shelter remains full.
More on this Story (http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/special_packages/iraq/11354746.htm)