Army Provides Ratchet Clearance, But Not In Time
Posted on Wednesday, 15 of October , 2008 at 5:42 pm
WASHINGTON—Ratchet, the puppy adopted by a Minnesota solider whose exit out of Iraq to the U.S. has been thwarted by the U.S. Army, did not make Wednesday’s SPCA International flight out of Iraq.
Just 30 minutes before SPCA International’s rescue expert, Terri Crisp, was to lift off from the Baghdad tarmac Wednesday, the military finally gave Ratchet clearance to be released from his location at COP Meade. The military’s slow response has put him at risk because they did not release him in time for Wednesday’s flight out of Iraq. Six other U.S. soldiers’ dogs are on their way to safety escorted by Crisp, Operation Baghdad Pups program manager.
Army Sgt. Gwen Beberg, 28, of Minneapolis, Minn., who adopted Ratchet, plans to return to the U.S. next month. More than 45,000 people have signed an online petition urging the Army to let the puppy come to the U.S.
SPCA International and Congressional officials pursued every measure at their disposal, but the military was too slow to act. Ratchet’s fate hangs by a thin thread of hope that he will be kept safe long enough for SPCA International’s Operation Baghdad Pups team to return. SPCA International plans to make another emergency return trip to rescue Ratchet as soon as Sunday.
It is hoped that if enough funds can be raised for the trip Sunday, with the Army having granted clearance that Ratchet will be able to come out of Iraq to the home of Beberg’s parents.
Neither the military or taxpayers will be funding the bill for Ratchet’s care and flight to the U.S. Everything is funded by private donations to ASPCA International/Operation Baghdad Pups. The only thing the military is being asked to do is turn over the dog that they took away from Beberg who never even got a chance to say goodbye.
Anyone wishing to donate to help bring Ratchet home can do so through http://www.baghdadpups.com/
On Oct. 1, the U.S. Army confiscated Ratchet from Beberg, the soldier who loves and cares for him just hours before he was to be rescued by SPCA International’s Operation Baghdad Pups program.
Sgt Beberg and another soldier rescued the puppy from a burning pile of rubbish in May.
I just want my puppy home,” Sgt Beberg wrote to her mother in the US in an email from Iraq this week, soon after she was separated from the dog after a transfer. It has been an emotional time for her, being separated from the dog in the manner the military chose and not knowing it’s fate, fearing that the dog will be killed.
She is scheduled to return to the U.S. next month when she hopes to reunited with the dog she saved.
Last week, Sgt Beberg’s congressman, Minnesota Democrat Keith Ellison, wrote to the U.S. Army urging it to review the case. Sgt Beberg and another soldier rescued the puppy from a burning pile of rubbish in May.
Defense Department rules prohibit soldiers in the U.S. Central Command, which includes Iraq, from adopting pets. Exceptions have been made with Operation Baghdad Pups which has transferred 50 dogs and six cats to the US in the last eight months.
To sign the petition to bring Ratchet home, visit http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/release-ratchet-from-iraq-nowhttp://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/clemency-for-ratchet 0-15-08
Category: Animals, Government, Military
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