EMPOC Sundays

Because the military loves acronyms, Dogs on Deployment is coining "EMPOC." What's it stand for? An action close to our hearts; End Military Pets On Craigslist.

Craigslist is one of the most popular posting sites out there. On any given day, you can peruse thousands of listings in your city for anything from "dating" to furniture, cars to unopened packages of paper... And somewhere in there, under "community," you'll find hundreds of listings for pets.

Puppies for sale. A dog in a shelter looking for home. Feral cats looking for a place to live out their lives. Lost ferret. Lost llama (you know I love my llamas). And mixed in, few posts here and there warning people not to use Craigslists to rehome animals.

And yet, people continue to list pets on Craigslist.

Do a quick search on the dangers of Craigslist and you'll receive hits on recent scams and crimes associated with the site. All this transfers to the pet community, and the dangers increase because now we're dealing with a valuable commodity, and one that has a life. Military owners are not the only ones at risk here; anyone who posts a "free to good home" pet is putting themselves and their animals in danger. Unfortunately, military members are often desperate to find a home for their pets (temporary or permanently) when they resort to using Craigslist, and often will post them as "free" without knowing the risks.

Jeffrey Nally Jr. was sentenced 10-45 years in prison
for torturing and killing at least 29 dogs he collected from Craigslist .

Probably the greatest risk of free to good home ads is the quality of person who targets free to good homes. If a person is not willing to pay a small adoption fee, and expect a pet to be free, they are probably not the type of person that is willing to put any investment into an animal. Animal hoarders, families that cannot afford proper pet care and those who believe pets to be disposable are the ones who respond to free to good home posts, and not posts that ask for an adoption fee. In rare circumstances, it has been reported that criminals who seek pleasure from abusing and killing animals will pick up free to good home pets under the guise of an animal lover. One such case was reported in West Virginia, where a 20-year old male was picking up free to good home dogs and severely mutilating, torturing and murdering them. In total, he killed 29 puppies. (Via Pet Pardons)

Another growing scam is dubbed the Pet Profit Scam. The pet owner posts their pet on Craigslist for free, an adopter responds that they will give your dog a loving home, you meet, it seems like a good match so you give them your dog. Check back on Craigslist in a day's time. Your pet might be listed on Craigslist again for a profit of $100-$200! This happened to a woman in New Jersey who posted her dog free on Craigslist. She met a nice husband and wife who took the dog. A week later, she found out that her dog had been sold to another family for $100. (Via Ripoff Report)

The farm of Floyd and Susan Martin in Southampton, PA
which was keeping an inventory of dogs to
sell to medical testing facilities.

There have also been reports of free pets being sold for medical testing to companies, some in the states and some across the border. There have been kennels shut down that were keeping inventory on stray, lost, or free to good home pets. They were selling these pets to leading medical testing facilities for $50-$75 each. (Via PennLive)

Pitbull puppy found free on Craigslist.
He was lucky to end up in a good home
and not as a bait dog.

Free to good home dogs and cats are also in extreme danger of being picked up and used as bait dogs and the fighting rings. Dog fighting is a crime that is prevalent among certain social groups, and typically the pitbull terrier has the highest risk of being picked up by these groups. Young pitbulls posted free to good home might be picked up by someone who wants to test their aggression and potential to be a fighting dog. (Via Examiner) Other breeds, even cats, or pitbulls which do not have good potential can be used at bait dogs. Becoming a bait dog is a fate that no living creature should ever have to endure. Bait dog's muzzles are duck taped closed so they cannot fight back, they are thrown into a ring with a fighting dog, and the criminals excite the dog to attack the bound dog until it is so wounded they kill it, leave it to die or allow the fighting dog to finish the job.

With all these risks, its a wonder anyone would post their pets on Craigslist. No pet, whether owned by a military member or not, should ever post their pet on Craigslist, especially as "free to good" home. This is why Dogs on Deployment has started EMPOC Sundays. Our goal is to every week thoroughly scrub Craigslist for any military pets posted on Craigslist due to deployments or other military commitments. They need to know about Dogs on Deployment in order to increase their chances of finding a responsible and loving DoD Boarder who will care for their pet, eliminating the risks of posting on Craigslist.

So do your part. Every Sunday, do a local search on Craigslist for free or military pets and warn them of the dangers and if applicable, share our organization with them. This is something that everyone can do in order to make a difference in the life of human and canine alike.

What if it were your dog?

JD at 16 weeks old after his last set of shots
and a day at the dog park for his first time.

I have had JD since he was an 8 week old puppy, and he just turned four in March. (Where does the time go?) Since his "infancy," he has been exposed to nearly everything but a plane ride, rock concert and scuba diving. He has met people, other dogs, cats, horses, cows, pigs, parrots, squirrels (he really LOVES squirrels...) etc. To put it short, he is well-socialized. He is (mostly) well-trained, and despite his protests, he'll usually roll over or play dead for a treat (unless he's being very lazy). I feed him food that I would eat in an emergency, take him to the vet for his annual checkup, spend about 30 minutes an evening brushing his ridiculously thick coat, and spoil him rotten. I'd say, overall, I'm a decent pet-owner.

JD has a step above most dogs, because he has an owner who really cares about his physical, mental and emotional well-being. One of the ways I keep him stimulated, is by near-daily trips to the dog park. He has been to parks across the nation through our military-commanded travels. He's met so many dogs and people I'm sure butt-smells are a blur to him.

Never in his four years has he had an incident with another dog. Until today.

I took JD and Jersey to a new dog park. We normally go to Bayview dog park in Pensacola, because there is a beach, a nice running trail and also a fenced in dog park. Due to errands I had to run today, I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone (I was getting brochures printed for our event at the Shiloh Airport in North Carolina, on April 14th!). They excitedly ran into the park, smelt the new dogs and explored their new surroundings, always keeping me in sight. Jersey brought me a disgusting germ-covered ball and I gladly threw it for her because she's so cute and in her puppy-way she asked "Please!" We were having a grand old time. I thought, maybe I found a new dog park that is closer to home (and one without a beach, because every time we go to the park portion of Bayview, JD stares at me wondering why we're not at the beach portion...).

The dogs were getting a little worn out but my brochures weren't going to be done for another 30 minutes so we sat on the bench and JD jumped up beside me for a good scratch behind the ears. Jersey joined shortly after and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I laughed and told the girl next to me, "We could be doing this at home!" Indeed - that is what we're doing right now, sitting together, all three of us on the couch.

A dog that JD had been somewhat getting a long with came up to sniff JD. The girl next to me sat down and put her backpack between us. The dog, which we will name "Precious," (we will use this as an euphemism) came up to sniff the backpack, which JD was also sniffing, and suddenly, went into attack mode. (I found out after that there was some food in the backpack.)

Precious grabbed JD by the scruff and yanked him to the ground. Without screaming or making a sound, I leaped to my feet, grabbed Precious by her scruff and threw her a good four feet from JD. All I saw were tuffs of JD's white fur floating peacefully through the air as Precious attacked again. JD, backing away and trying to avoid getting bit by his neck area, took protection behind me while I seized the dog one more time and then pushed JD even further away. This time, Precious lunged at ME! She grabbed me by the wrist before finally coming-to and let go.

Artist rendition of the
owner of Precious

I had yelled for the owner, who stood idly beside us with his leash in hand, a bit dumbfounded. I told him frankly, "Get your dog out of this park." He apologized several times, leashed his dog and left. Despite some missing fur, a bit of shock, a scratched cell phone (from falling out of my lap when I leaped to save my dog - whatever - a million and one cell phones wouldn't amount to the worth of my dog [a million and one cell phones at the price iPhone charges - without a contract]) and a bruised wrist that temporarily doesn't bend, all is fine.

I myself left immediately after gathering my things. JD, Jersey and I took a well-deserved trip to Petco (will they pay DoD royalties for this?) to buy entirely too many toys and a can of Wellness' Lamb stew. At checkout, as I was awkwardly holding my keys, dogs, wallet and purchases due to my swelling wrist, the cashier asked me what was wrong, so I briefly explained what happened.

Her reply, "Was it a [breed of dog - I don't want to cause any biases... but it was NOT a bully breed!!!] owned by an older man?" I said, why yes, yes it was! And she said she stopped going there because she had seen that same dog in attacks with others before!

Wow. And he still brings his dog back?

The dog bite

I am a strong proponent for "Blame the deed, not the breed." I didn't even want the man's name or number after I found out JD was OK. First, JD is insured (I highly recommend pet insurance in case of injury or illness) but second, JD was in fact, OK. I have no idea what the background of this dog is. She looked healthy; good weight, bright eyes, friendly demeanor. Her owner obviously cared some about her since she was at the dog park. Was she a rescue? Did she have a bad past? But how can an owner stand idly by while his dog is attacking another? Why would you bring your dog back if it had been in incidents before? Do you ever blame the dog, and not the people?

I don't know if I did the right thing by not reporting this man's dog. I think I did. It wasn't so serious that I felt it needed to be reported. But what if it had been? Or what if the next time this dog attacks, it is serious? I warned that man he should not bring his dog back to the park. But now we're punishing the dog for a possible lack of responsibility on the owner's behalf. Its a catch-22 scenario. There is no perfect solution.

What I can say is this, I won't be returning to that park as long as that crowd is there. I can also guarantee all of you that my dogs will remain properly socialized and stimulated, and if one of my dogs ever becomes aggressive, I'll be seeking professional help to put them back on track, because what if it were ever JD who was the perpetrator of a dog attack? I hope that it would be the same for my readers. If you're reading this, you must give a hoot about the welfare of animals, as we all should.