DEAR ABBY: Kudos to you for your advice to "Willing to Do It in West Virginia" (Dec. 10), who asked for advice regarding temporarily adopting her son "Kevin's" dog while he was away on deployment, which her husband did not want to do. The husband felt that Kevin getting the dog in the first place was a mistake and her son should "learn his lesson." You advised that they should temporarily take the dog, since there was no way of knowing what might happen during his deployment.
Giving the dog to a shelter would have a high probability of being a death sentence. That's not humane when there are viable alternatives, and the situation is no fault of the dog's. An alternative would be to contact Dogs on Deployment (dogsondeployment.org), a national nonprofit that provides an online network that connects service members with volunteers willing to board their pets during their service commitments.
Dogs on Deployment promotes responsible, lifelong pet ownership by advocating for military pet owner rights, providing educational resources, and granting financial assistance for military pet owners during times of emergency. -- JENNIFER IN SAN DIEGO
DEAR JENNIFER: Thank you for the information. Other Dear Abby readers mentioned that returning soldiers may have witnessed traumatic things during deployment and, once they return home, need the unconditional love an animal companion provides. Along with Dogs on Deployment, other organizations that may be helpful to military families include PACT for Animals, Guardian Angels for Soldier's Pet or the local SPCA.