Network Connects For Military Animals in Canada

By Jon Tattrie

Source of information:Metro Halifax

A Hatchet Lake woman is setting up Canada’s first pet-fostering network for military members serving overseas.Amanda Layton understands how difficult owning a military pet can be. When her husband was deployed to the Middle East on the HMCS Iroquois, he left her in charge of their unusual family: five Chihuahuas, one Pug and one cat.

 

“We’re trying to gather foster homes that would be available to take the burden off our troops when they’re deployed and need to find a home for their pet,” Layton says. That’s why she and friend Tara Bayne set up Canadian Military Pets Foster Network (it can be found on Facebook under that name.)

As soldiers can be stationed anywhere in Canada, they often don’t have family in the area.  “We know how difficult it is. We’ve been through it ourselves,” she said. Layton and her husband, and the Chihuahuas and the cat, drove from B.C. to Halifax. “There are some families that just can’t do it. We hope that with this network, we’ll really be able to support our members.”

“To board their animals for months at a time is just financially not feasible,” she added. “Also, it takes an animal out of an environment it’s comfortable in. If you can give it a home environment, it’s much better for the dog, or cat or bird or anything else that needs to be taken care of.”

And they’re looking for a few good homes to join the network.

“We hope that if we get the word out, we can attract more trustworthy, reliable homes that can take pets.”