Note – Please read: It is imperative that the “Overview” and “Additional Information” sections below be read in their entirety before proceeding to the “Situations We Assist With” section.
For us to help, your situation MUST involve:
- Deployment (combat, peacekeeping or humanitarian mission) OR
- Inpatient medical issue AND/OR
- Homeless situation impacting your quality of life.
If your situation is anything else, we are unable to assist you. We recommend doing an Internet search using the words “military pet fostering, including your city and state abbreviation.” This search may show other organizations providing similar services that may have resources.
Overview
Our Foster Home program has a two-fold purpose, assisting with deploying active duty service members and veterans in specific situations. We find volunteer foster homes within our network and the Military Pet Assistance (MPA) fund to assist Homeless Veterans with veterinary care and temporary pet boarding expenses.
The Foster Home Program was established for the following situations:
- Out-of-Country Deployments primarily impact our Single and Dual Military service members related to combat or potential combat area (e.g., Afghan), Peacekeeping cases (e.g., S. Korea), and Humanitarian (e.g., Haiti) missions.
Note: When deploying service member is married, then immediate members (spouse and/or children) must have a significant handicap (wheelchair-bound) or 100% disability (e.g., MS, Autism) that impacts the family’s ability to care for the pet properly. A letter from the Primary Care Manager for the handicapped/disabled individual must be submitted on their letterhead to our National Office. - Honorably Discharged Veterans facing an unforeseen situation related to a significant inpatient medical situation and/or is homeless receiving a “hand-up” from a VA or VA-approved Homeless Veteran Transition program.
The Foster Home program’s coverage can average from two to twelve months, depending on the situation.
The Foster Home Program is available in all 50 states for all Branches of Service, including the US Army, US Navy, US Marine Corps, US Air Force, and US Coast Guard. Plus, the National Guard and Reservists are also included when their units or individuals have received orders to deploy for combat, peacekeeping, or humanitarian mission.
When Military Pet Assistance (MPA) funds are available, and a service member is being admitted to a VA or military medical facility for less than 30 days, we may be able to help. If no one is able or willing to care for the companion animal, our assistance would be for boarding expenses, and potential veterinary expenses such as vaccinations need to be updated.
As much as we would love to assist with every situation our active duty service members and veterans with companion animals may incur, we can’t. If your situation is other than what is defined above, we recommend doing an Internet search (Search Engine Subject Line “military pet fostering including your city and state abbreviation”) to search for other organizations that may have a similar foster home program and who have the ability to assist.
Note: Pet submissions received about the situations shown above will be considered regardless of the race, sex, religion, creed, sexual orientation, and ethnic origin of the legal military/veteran pet owner.
“Military Pet Assistance” (MPA) Fund
The MPA Fund was implemented in February 2008 to assist with pet care-related expenditures involving the following situations:
- Companion animals being cared for in our Foster Home program where emergency veterinary care is required, and the legal military/veteran pet owner has insufficient funds. We may be able to cover such expenses providing we have the funds in the MPA Fund account.
- Homeless veterans whose companion animals will be placed in one of our registered foster homes.
- Veterans requiring emergency inpatient care lasting less than 30 days, which will involve temporary pet boarding at a local and licensed boarding facility.
The expenditures from the “MPA Fund” usually involve:
- Required veterinary care including but not limited to being spayed/neutered, heartworm (canines) or Feline Leukemia (felines) testing with negative results, current on all required vaccinations necessary by the veterinarian or state regulations. This may be for Rabies, Distemper, and Bordetella, and micro-chipping (homeless veteran pets) before placement in one of our registered Foster Homes (specific Guardian Angel);
- Short-term pet boarding not to exceed 14 days where a pet needs a foster home immediately when no foster home is available;
- Pet boarding in a local licensed boarding facility for less than 30 days while the veteran pet owner is an “inpatient” due to an unforeseen illness or surgery.
IMPORTANT: Actual assistance from this fund is dependent on available funds at the time of formal communications between our National Office and the wounded warrior. In some cases, this may be a veteran’s assigned VA caseworker or Primary Care Manager (PCM). The assigned VA caseworker or Primary Care Manager (PCM) must prepare the “MPA Request” form for the wounded warrior and veterans-related situations shown in the “Situations We Assist With” section below.
Additional Information
Guardian Angels for Soldier’s Pet© does not charge a fee for this service or any of our other services provided. However, the military/veteran legal pet owner is usually responsible for all pet care-related expenditures, including but not limited to; needed veterinary care, food, treats, and grooming during the foster term unless other arrangements were made by our National Office.
We hope the military/veteran legal pet owner will consider supporting us after the foster term with a donation. This will help to continue assisting other active duty service members, our wounded warriors, our veterans, and their beloved pets.
During the time your pet is fostered by one of our Guardian Angel, an assignedFoster Coordination Liaison, or an assigned Foster Home Services Liaison (FHSL) volunteer representing the state your pet is in will follow up regularly to ensure your pet remains in a caring and safe home environment.
We will do everything humanly possible to assist you but are unable to make any guarantee with the following:
- We may not be able to assist with each case. We are dependent on volunteer foster homes in our network that will meet your pet’s needs and appears to be a good fit for your pet and the potential foster home.
- We will try to place multiple pets belonging to the same military or veteran legal pet owner in the same foster home.
- We will try to find a foster home as close as possible to where the pet is currently located.
We will strive to find a foster home where both parties (military/veteran legal pet owner or an authorized representative and the recommended foster home caregiver) are in agreement that the pet or pets will be well cared for. Both parties are required to prepare and sign our official Fostering Written Agreement” (FWA). A signed copy of the FWA may be faxed to our National office in TX via Fax # 877-788-8048 or attached to an e-mail to militarypetprofile@gafsp.org within 10 days after receiving the FWA (responsibility is for the foster home caregiver to send the FWA).
The FWA, along with instructions, will be provided to the legal military/veteran pet owner and the potential foster home as an attachment to the Meet and Greet e-mail.
The FWA is recognized as a legal document (in the event any legal issues arise during the foster term), so both parties must read the document in its entirety and provide complete information where asked.
NOTE: Failure to prepare and sign the FWA will be recognized as an agreement between you and the foster home only and outside the Guardian Angels for Soldier’s Pet responsibility. We will not be able to assist with issues arising during the foster term. For your protection and your pet, an FWA is required to be prepared and signed by both parties.
Foster Home Program “Pet Requirements”
Each pet being submitted for assistance via the fostering program must be:
- Altered (spay or neutered) and cannot have major aggressive issues. See our “Altered Pet” policy HERE for further details
- Must be current on all required vaccinations including, Bordetella
- If Canine, then Heartworm test results must be negative
- If Feline, then Feline Leukemia test results must be negative
Situations We Assist With
If your situation is anything else, we are unable to assist you. We recommend an Internet search using words “military pet fostering, including your city and state abbreviation.” This search may show other organizations providing similar services and who may have resources.
We would love to assist with every situation a military or veteran pet owner may encounter, but it is not possible.
Our foster home program was established to assist in the following situations (click the appropriate button below to go to specific instructions):
Deployments
Assisting Certain DeploymentsDeployments relate to where a unit or member of a specific unit has received deployment orders related to combat, peacekeeping, or humanitarian mission only.
- Active Duty
- An active duty single service member OR dual military couple whose units or individual service members have received deployment orders. The order must be related to combat, peacekeeping, or humanitarian mission.
- Foster Term: up to 1 year depending on the branch of service and deployments.
- Family of Deploying Service Member
- Assistance with a major medical situation (e.g., MS, Autism, spouse, or child wheelchair-bound) within the immediate family having an impact on the family to care for their pet during the spouse’s deployment.
- Requires a letter from the Primary Care Manager caring for the handicapped immediate family member, on the physician’s letterhead, confirming the major medical situation.
- Foster Term is the same as the deployment term.
Wounded Warrior
- Wounded Warrior and family members needing foster home assistance due to combat injuries, including TBI, PTSD, or other major medical issues. We work with the various VA medical assigned representatives (caseworker, mentor, counselor, social worker, etc.), military medical facility (assigned Primary Case Manager), Fisher House representative, or the military Warrior Transition Unit (WTU) Primary Care Manager.
- To begin the process, the assigned caseworker/social worker calls our national office (254) 248-1818 about the specific case.
- The assigned caseworker/mentor submits the MPA Request form.
- Foster Term: between 6 to 12 months depending on the case.
Veteran Major Medical Issue
Assisting Veterans-Inpatient Medical
- Assistance related to major “inpatient” medical (e.g., PTSD, TBI, Cancer, etc.) situations by working with the various VA Medical Center representatives (mentor, counselor, case manager, etc.) across the country.
- To begin the process, the assigned caseworker/social worker calls our national office (254) 248-1818 about the specific case.
- The assigned caseworker/mentor submits the MPA Request form.
- Foster Term: between 2 – 9 months, depending on the situation.
Homeless Veteran
- Assistance involving a homeless situation by working with the various VA and/or VA-approved “Homeless Transition” program representatives (mentor, counselor, case manager, etc.)
- To begin the process, the assigned caseworker/mentor submits the MPA Request form.
- Foster Term between 2 – 6 months, but no longer than 9 months depending on the situation.
Fallen Warriors
Assisting Fallen Warriors’ Families
- Families impacted by the loss of a loved one who has paid the ultimate sacrifice (KIA or Suicide-related) and is being supported through a Survivors Outreach Services (SOS) or “Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors: (TAPS). If the family feels because of unexpected happenings at the moment, they are unable to care for the MSM/family pet or pets properly and may need our assistance. At the end of the foster term, the family is required to pick up the pet or pets and decide to keep the pet or pets or surrender the pet or pets.
- To begin the process, the assigned TAPS representative calls our national office (254) 248-1818 about the specific case.
- The assigned TAPS representative submits the
- To begin the process, the assigned TAPS representative calls our national office (254) 248-1818 about the specific case.
- The assigned TAPS rep. submits the MPA Request form.
- Foster Term up to 3 months.