There is a higher rate of animal abandonment near military installations. This has become a serious enough problem that the DoD is looking at ways to stem the tide of abandoned pets. Yet even in war zones, airmen, soldiers and Marines adopt stray dogs and cats and then have to deal with leaving them behind. There is no question that the interaction between humans and animals is beneficial and ther
apeutic for both parties. How then to provide the benefit without also risking the negative consequences of abandonment? The AAI is an ongoing project where willing airmen and soldiers go to a local animal shelter on a monthly or bi-weekly basis. The idea is to go to the shelter for a few hours each time to groom, exercise, play with or simply comfort the animals who would get less interaction otherwise. This is not only comforting to the animals, but also to the servicemen and women who can get some interaction without needing to shoulder the responsibility of ownership. It is also an effective way to improve community relations and to mitigate the negative impact the military community has on the local animal population.
