Rebecca’s War Dog of the Week: When soldiers go to war, where do their dogs go?

By Rebecca Frankel
Best Defense chief canine correspondent

When soldiers deploy what happens to their dogs? And their cats and horses and the many other beloved animals they call pets? Some are fortunate enough to have spouses, friends, or other family members who are willing to play temporary guardians, but others don’t have the option to leave their pet in a familiar home.

Such, reports the The Las Vegas Review Journal, was the case with Brian and Kristle Adelman, a couple who was set to deploy to Afghanistan together, but with nowhere to leave their two dogs — Pepper and Rambo. But just as the last, most-dreaded option loomed — an animal shelter — another one presented: Guardian Angels.  

These angels took the form of not one, but two families, each taking one of the Aleman’s dogs. But officially, this is the work of Guardian Angels of Soldiers Pets — a non-profit, volunteer-run foster care program established in 2005 with the sole purpose of placing soldiers’ pets in temporary homes for the duration of their deployment.

The Guardian Angels website has a great collection of dogs and cats that have been successfully placed in foster care and everything you want to know about finding temporary shelter for your pet, becoming a foster parent, how to help the program stay afloat. The site also hosts a blog "Tails from the Front Line" with some great testimonials.

The Conklins, the couple who took in Pepper, the Aleman’s Black Lab, just consider fostering a soldier’s pet while he or she is deployed all part of their civic duty and are treating Pepper like one of their already large canine family. "They’re like our fur children."