European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 9, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Waiting for a new owner s s photos by Gus Schuettler posing without the pet continued from Page 3 Ducco As having belonged to american its a Parade of abandonment that Doest speak Well for the american pet Loving for one of the last it Fea tured an overwhelming array of homeless american pets from the tier him animal shelter or Pound in the town of whats happening there Wertheim is not said the Only thing that is unusual about the shelter there is the exceptional personal treatment that irm Traud Theisen the director gives the pets in her we had already talked to the directors of a number of animal shelters in in areas of heavy military told us under orders of their local Tiersch Tzverin animal Protection Socie they no longer give pets to Heinz director of the Stierheim in Griesheim has such a it forbids him to give animals to any one without a permanent he says also that he has had Many negative experiences with they have Given false for they seem to think of animals More As objects than As living in any i have had More negative than positive dealings with in at the Large Tiersch Tzverin Stierheim at Ferdinand porsche Strasse Werner Hansen says he believes that americans and germans have much the same relationship toward he says germans also abandon he sees the Basic problem As the rotation of the Mili tary and reluctance of Many to pay to take pets with in Theisen says that despite what she feels is overcrowding of the shelter because of american she would never refuse to release a pet based on a persons the Wortheim shelter is not unlike Many in Ger excited Barking and wagging of tails greets Visi Theisen explained that it is a Small shelter meant for a Small town and financially and physically not Able to care for the number of animals being brought we Are supported mainly by members of the local animal Protection there Are 350 members who pay dues of 12 Marks we also receive a Mark about subsidy from the and Marks about from the the Marks from members Doest quite pay the water the Marks from the City just pays for the floor heating in the it is a constant struggle to find other accompanied by the Motley pack of dogs that had met us at the Theisen gave us a tour of the cats Are kept in a Large grass floored Cage with a tree trunk for climbing and sharpening there is a Low roofed dog Kennel with 18 separate inside and outside the dogs wag their tails and press noses against the Fence As we almost every other animal is identified As having come from an american a sad Parade of behind the up a slight is a fenced Meadow where the shelters rabbits its ducks or the dogs Calls out Theisen and Waves to a Large Duck in the nearby fenced area with its Little Frederline lost an Eye trying to protect her now she is a permanent we have to slip her her food from her Good Side so she can see that it is Theisen says there Are 43 cats and 39 dogs at the since there Are Only 18 dog she has had to double some sixty percent of the animals this year have come from it is getting worse All the they either brought by their owners or the Are simply left at night tied to the front Gate or thrown Over the she it is not difficult to identify dogs that have come from she even when they have been abandoned on the they refuse German pet food at first and will Only eat american dry dog they also dont respond to but pick up their ears and become excited when they hear american she an american will bring in a dog explaining that he got it without asking his landlord and has been told he has to get rid of when asked to give a donation for Many then say they have no Money with them and leave with the saying they will be they dont come but without fail the dog reappears in about a picked up by the maps or the German the main she comes up when a family is to rotate Back to the it is very we have tried to talk the problem Over with the american authorities but the answer is always the i am told they Are terribly but there is nothing they can it is the soldiers personal business As to whether he has an animal or i also was told by one High officer that my problems would be Over when no one turned up to claim an animal within three i just put it to i told him i have no right to do not even an animal doctor is allowed to put a healthy animal to questioned about the the Public affairs of fice at Penden Barracks in Wertheim said it was not aware of any problems and had not had any recent i think we have been very in any said the the base made three contributions to the animal shelter in 1983 on the sixth of on the 26th of May and again on july there of americans who Are entirely different and truly love continues an american teacher i know at the military school brings her preschool class on Tours of the shelter two or three times a she tries to impress them with what a responsibility it is to have a she recalls a Young couple during their bought a Saint Bernard and a they assured me Over and Over again that they would take the dogs with i received a Call from another Kennel in a Village not too the woman said she had been Given two lost dogs found near the German somehow she Felt there was something she had the impression they might have been owned by i asked her to describe it was pudding and the Saint Bernard and the says the ploy is to Board the then simply skip without picking it up or paying the other shelters report the same practice by they say they want to Board their dog for eight i wait then finally go to the address Given and find they have gone to the United the address is a false one of the commanders told me i could solve this by paying close attention to the rank and name tag on the i went to the Cavern to try to Trace a family and was told they were not allowed to give out inform Page 14 the stars and stripes Irmtraud Theisen of Wertheim animal Shell pets pose few problems in by Dave Diehl Bureau pet abandonment around military bases in the int a significant say officials on the bases and in the comm military and civil officials say that there is no Way of knowing whether or not americans or their British hosts Are to blame when abandoned pets show up at the authorities army Samuel a veterinarian at Raf said that he and his staff try to pre vent any problems with military people leaving their pets behind by keeping them Lamb said he regularly submits articles to base newspapers advising readers How to take care or take along their pets when they leave the he said his office recommends euthanasia putting an animal to sleep for pets Only As a last he said sometimes people think it is difficult to take their pet with them when they a spokesman for the military Airlift come said that military passengers can request that they Fly on chartered flights so they can ship their pets on the same Todd head of the Mac passenger terminal at Raf said that Many people choose that he said that the Only extra Cost to the member is the air fare for the travellers can request that they Fly on no charter flights through their local traffic manage ment he when there is no Lamb said he will recommend putting an animal to but he added that usually it Doest come to before we suggest we try to Tell them How easy it is to ship a Lamb he said he and his staff also recommend other alter such As turning Over animals to Charity organi for example the Royal society for the Preven Tion of cruelty to animals Terry Public affairs officer at Raf Lakenheath 48th tac fighter said commanders at the bases make sure that people stationed in the country Are aware of their responsibilities to their he said Community relations advisers at the bases usually Are called on for advice by Laken Heath has its own pet coordinator who handles prob lems with americans and their Tyrrell Lamb said that there Are Many Good agencies in the that offer pet pet abandonment in this country is considered a serious offence and if youre the penalty could be up to pounds about according to inspector John cant at the Mildenhall police which covers an area around Raf Mildenhall and Raf la cant said although there Are a Large number of americans living around he Doest think that americans abandon their pets More often than their British cant said his station gets about five lost or abandoned dogs a he said Many arc eventually but he said about 50 to 60 a year turn out to be abandoned and usually end up being the inspector said his officers do a thorough Check within and outside the Community with several different agencies to find the dogs real Home or a new Lamb said he has never had to destroy an animal for anyone who  get rid of his he said if it does come to he recommends that people take their pets to British having your pet taken care of while on leave is relatively easy and inexpensive in boarding kennels for cats and dogs Are in fees for dogs can run from about to a Day for depending on the and about a Day for pathetic plight for animals in Spain Al by Diana Valdez staff writer its not in its downright pathetic and the Only Strong thing about the stray animal facility at Torrejon is the Fence around the facility sits in a lifeless Patch of desert next to an infrequently travelled its exposed to the heat and bitter five dogs froze to death last the condemned Wood that makes up the Small cubicle seems the some abandoned some wait out their sentence in a sort of death not Many people maybe because they dont know where it maybe because its not a Happy but when someone the animals tremble with exit the yearning for a Pat on the head or a some kind of is visible in their if not in their its As if they know Why there its As if they know eventually  be 5 Darren Gil Calls it in Layman that Means putting an animal to a painless and it goes against Gils Grain by Hes an Anima care this is the largest and roughest part of my says part of his Job is caring for giving them needed immunizations and keeping them the other is the unpleasant and often painful Job of destroying stray animals an average of four a i try to get them he Gil spends time attaching descriptions of the abandoned animals to local bulletin Daniel melvins in the same Hes in charge of the impoundment facility and sees the animals every Day to feed and care for most Are dogs that Are strays or have been abandoned by their we catch most in the Royal Oaks housing he in the a High personnel rotation Mel Vin has up to seven dogs waiting for potential i dont like to see a dog put to he All the people i know off base have dogs a gift from even the local american radio and television stations have jumped on the band Wagon to find new Homes for the strays and abandoned around the beginning of the both started advertising animals available for we want to Tell the Public that these dogs Are going to be killed if they dont get Melvin nine dogs a week Are destroyed during the summer months and Many of them used to be Loving photo by Stephanie James impoundment facility at stray dogs cause troubles in Naples by Lon Cabot Naples Bureau chief the abandoned pet problem has become so bad in Naples that local american officials have proposed that military people being As signed to Naples not be allowed to bring pets with stray dogs in the Naples area Are a real says Larry chief Petty officer in charge of Naples Shore when americans find out they have to either ship their pet Home or pay to Board the pet for an indefinite the most common solution is to turn the pet Deering says that in the last six months his office received More than 20 complaints about stray the dogs Are set Loose to fend for he they end up with sores and rabies and we end up with a lot of Calls from people who say they have been bitten or that there being bothered by one pack of stray dogs has been raising havoc in the pin Tamare military housing about 15 dogs in the pack have apparently become wild and Are impossible to he we Are not equipped to go out and catch Deering and when you talk about alternatives like shooting or poisoning you get animal lovers up in Carney chief of veterinarian services for the Naples military says his office cant we just dont have the facility to Start taking in stray he and i dont like the alternative of Eutha Nasia putting animals to sleep because of the personal upheaval that causes within three animal shelters Are available to the each costs More Money than Many Ameri cans want to pay when there leaving the its ridiculous that theres no place to leave a pet if you dont want to take it Back to the states with you without paying through the said a member of the Naples military Community who asked not to be Ridenti boarding fees for animals at the three shelters in Naples vary according to the animals size and the time the animal is to be owners also can keep their pet at the shelters indefinitely for a monthly but none of the shelters search for new Homes for pets whose owners have left the few americans opt for boarding a pet  never see the san Francisco near the pin Tamare hous ing charges about a Day for animals boarded up to two a month for More than two months and a month for pets brought in for Perma nent the fee for permanent custody is based on the dogs says Antonio an owner of a local Ani Mal animal lovers and veterinarians agree that the prob Lem of stray pets is getting out of but nobody seems to have any answers to the that Why we Are recommending that commanding officers Tell military people getting assigned to Naples they cannot bring pets with says the problem keeps growing and there is no easy solution except to keep the numbers at the same july the stars and stripes Page 15