Therapy pets enrich Team Mildenhall

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Victoria H. Taylor
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England - --  Starry-eyed children sat scattered throughout the reading area as the pitter-patter sound of paws filled the room. The four-legged visitors gently walked up and showered each guest with wet kisses and a warm greeting August 6, 2014 at the library on RAF Mildenhall, England.

Children and their parents participated in just one of the many Pets Enriching Troops events that have been held since the programs start in February 2014.

PET is a non-profit organization founded by U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Nicole Strauss, 48th Contractor Squadron contracting specialist, and her husband, Tech. Sgt. Will Strauss, 48th Civil Engineer Squadron firefighter. Their main mission is to increase morale, foster positive relationships and responsible military pet ownership as well as provide a great deal of resources and education to prevent pet abandonment.

"We have four different services within our organization," said Strauss. "We have the PET Me program, the PET Guardian program, a PET On-The-Go program and we also provide a training and obedience course. Many of our volunteers are subject-matter experts who help service members stay with their furry family members."

The first of four programs offered is PET Me. This morale program offers fully certified therapy pets and morale support animals to service members as they leave for deployment and in turn, welcomes them home when they arrive.

Strauss added that the PET Me program also has animals that offer support to the families of deployed service members and the animals often attend events such as Hearts Apart, kid's deployment lines and Department of Defense sponsored schools, where they are certified to visit classrooms and listen to children read to them.

The PET Guardian program is designed to put deploying members in touch with PET volunteers who foster their pets while they're away from home.

Once contacted, volunteers immediately assist in finding a long-term foster home, which allows service members to rest easy knowing their loved ones are in good hands, added Strauss.

Also offered is the PET On-The-Go program intended to assist service members who are making a permanent change of station. This helps Airmen who are looking for help and information about shipping their pet to or from overseas locations.

In addition, Strauss mentioned she has found that many pet owners don't have the finances to fund a regular obedience class, so to better suit the needs of dog owners, PET also provides free training classes for eager pet owners.

"We created these programs to spread our knowledge and help our fellow service members," said Strauss. "PET gives me a chance to combine my passion of working with animals and my love for the military."

Strauss said the organization is hoping to reach a global scale in the future and have PET representatives at every U.S. Air Force base, as well as provide grants for service members shipping their animals to try and offset the costs.

"I have a lot of faith in the relationship between a pet and its owner," said Strauss. "Through our programs and events, I hope to give more pet owners that same mindset."

For more information on PET or how to help or volunteer, visit www.facebook.com/petsenrichingtroops or e-mail petsenrichingtroops@gmail.com.