PACT for Animals matches military members and veterans with foster homes for pets

It seemed like an intractable problem: many service members have pets, but who cares for those animals while their owners are deployed around the world? PACT for Animals provides a solution by matching military members with foster families who care for their pets during deployment. The now-nationwide organization began at an animal shelter in Pennsylvania.

“Buzz Miller was a longtime animal shelter volunteer in Philadelphia,” said Gisele Fetterman, PACT for Animals’ director of strategic partnerships and development. “He was working at a shelter when a soldier showed up to surrender his pet. He felt he had no other choice as he was about to be deployed. Miller thought that was a terrible situation, just so unjust, and that’s how it began. Until then, a service person with no family to help was likely surrendering their pet to a shelter.”

PACT stands for People + Animals = Companions Together.

Since its founding 11 years ago, PACT for Animals has provided foster care for more than 5,000 pets and now serves all 50 states. The program isn’t just for active-duty personnel. It also assists veterans who cannot care for their animals due to medical issues, including PTSD.

“We’ve helped veterans with PTSD who needed medical care, or even with medical emergencies,” Fetterman said. “Our goal now is to grow our foster database, so then when cases come in we are able to match them quickly.” She said volunteers sometimes drive long distances to place pets in foster care. “We are trying to make sure that isn’t necessary. We would like to know that in any community, there are fosters ready to step up and help.”

Fetterman described PACT as a “very loving, hands-on organization.”

“We’re very small, but we’re very hands-on,” she said. “Our website has two application forms, one for those needing a foster and one for anyone who would like to open their home to fostering a pet. Applicants will then hear from a real person about how we can help.”

Potential fosters receive background information and undergo a virtual home tour via video. “Just a quick walk around the home to get a feel for the environment we would be placing the animal in,” Fetterman said. “Then we move forward with matching. We really need to grow our database of volunteer foster homes.”

The program, she said, has wide-ranging benefits.

“Our volunteers are folks who really care about our mission and about protecting that human-animal bond,” Fetterman said. “They understand how important and life-saving that can be. We’ve had cases where a care provider reached out to us because they had a patient who needed care but wouldn’t leave their pet. If you think about that, choosing your pet’s well-being over your own is pretty remarkable. No one should have to do that. They can both get the care they need, person and pet. We hope to offer peace of mind so that no one has to make that kind of choice.”

Looking ahead, Fetterman said the long-term goal is to help anyone in need, not just those connected to military service.

“What happens to a mom who has a baby in NICU?” she said. “That parent, that family, is likely going to be living at the hospital for six months or more. What happens to the pet at home, and how can we best support that family? Our dream is to be able to help everyone.”

More information, including applications to volunteer or request assistance, is available at pactforanimals.org.