Peace of mind for service members and their pets

Army veteran Georgia Glancies had a medical emergency this past spring that landed her in the hospital — leaving Bonnie, Georgia's beloved dog, without anyone to care for her.

Georgia lives in Gainesville, Florida, and she brought Bonnie home almost three years ago. It’s an important, enduring relationship for both of them. So when Georgia didn’t know where Bonnie was or who was caring for her in those first days of hospitalization, she says she was “scared to death.”

Georgia’s sister Sharon Pilcher, far away in Colorado, knew the urgency of this situation. She began making calls to find out where the dog was and who could take care of her until Georgia was back home.

Sharon learned that a neighbor brought Bonnie to the local animal shelter. She called the shelter and found out they only had the space to care for Bonnie for a short time. So Sharon started looking for other resources, and that’s how she found PACT for Animals.

PACT for Animals is a Best Friends Network Partner organization that finds foster homes and provides other support for pets of service members. Organizations like PACT for Animals stepping up to keep pets out of shelters is one of the ways shelters across the country are achieving no-kill.

Sharon sent PACT for Animals a desperate email and got a quick response. Soon Bonnie was out of the shelter and in a nearby boarding facility until a foster home could be arranged. Then, she rode with a volunteer from Gainesville a couple hours down the coast to the home of Patty Winans, who agreed to foster Bonnie until Georgia was out of the hospital.

[Veterans and shelter pets healing together]

“They found this wonderful woman,” Sharon says. “It was such a relief.”

PACT for Animals has helped over 3,500 pets since the organization's founding in 2011 — placing 200 to 300 pets in foster homes every year. These are mostly pets of active-duty service members being deployed, but they also include pets of veterans who need medical care, says Erika Kelly, PACT for Animals networking coordinator.

PACT for Animals’ mission is to keep pets together with their families and prevent them from ending up in shelters. It’s important for the pets and also for their people’s well-being.

“We’re there to help veterans in need just like Georgia, as well as help the overburdened animal welfare system,” Erika says. “The last thing anyone needs when they’re trying to heal is to be worried about their pets. We go to our pets for comfort to help us heal. It would be absolutely devastating to lose that connection.”

And that’s exactly why Patty volunteered to foster Bonnie — to keep her together with Georgia. “Sometimes you see a call for help, and you have to help,” she says. “I don’t want our service members to lose their family. Pets are family.”

Bonnie was a cheerful, playful, goofy, and loving guest during her five weeks at Patty’s home. Patty has countless videos of her romping with other dogs, snuggling up with her mother, taking over the bed, and overall being “an angel.”

Patty made a point of keeping in constant communication with Georgia through her hospitalization, sending photos and updates. She made sure Georgia never needed to worry about how her dog was doing. And once Georgia was out of the hospital, Patty herself drove Bonnie back to her home.

As excited as she was to be reunited with Bonnie, Georgia also couldn’t wait to meet and thank Patty. “I had a feeling I’d love her,” Georgia says.

[Faces of No-Kill: 3-legged dog earns her military stripes]

Happy and home, Georgia laughs that Bonnie misses her time at summer camp with Patty. But she’s grateful to be home together, where she and Bonnie go for lots of walks and the 74-pound pup remains a real bed hog.

And she’s very grateful for all the good people who kept Bonnie safe while she was in the hospital — who made sure that she and her dog would be back together again.

“It just helped my soul so much,” Georgia says. “I don’t know what I’d do without her."

Our goal at Best Friends is to support all animal shelters in the U.S. in reaching no-kill. No-kill means saving every dog and cat in a shelter who can be saved, accounting for community safety and good quality of life for pets. 

Shelter staff can’t do it alone. Saving animals in shelters is everyone’s responsibility, and it takes support and participation from the community. No-kill is possible when we work together thoughtfully, honestly, and collaboratively.