Hundreds if not thousands of miles from home, sailors from Naval Air Facility El Centro long for, among other things, their pets.
Lost, abandoned or forever homeless, animals in the local Humane Society shelter in El Centro long for a nice place to live, but more than anything, they long for love.
So it is wonderful that the NAF sailors and dogs, cats and other animals at the shelter have come together to give each other attention and love.
Because many sailors live in the barracks at the base, they are not allowed to have their pets living with them. That no doubt makes being away from home harder for many of the young men and women at the base.
A program started by Julian Bradley, a senior enlisted adviser at NAF El Centro, is bringing the animals and the sailors together to make lives better for both the humans and the homeless pets. The 24 sailors involved in the program are working on a rotating basis, with two volunteers at the shelter in the mornings and the afternoons Mondays through Thursdays. Bradley said he would like to see the involvement by the sailors in Humane Society programs continue to grow.
The sailors volunteer to do tasks including filling potholes, repairing cat trees, fixing fences and bathing dogs. They also take the time to play and snuggle with the dogs and cats, no doubt making the animals both happier and better socialized for eventual adoption.
Bradley said such volunteering builds camaraderie among the squadron and allows the sailors to be good citizens of the base and the Imperial Valley.
More than anything, though, we would bet the thing the sailors most treasure from the program is giving and getting love from the animals at the shelter. It’s not the same as cuddling the family dog or cat back home, but it just might be the next best thing.
THE ISSUE:
Sailors at the shelter
WE SAY:
Benefits both ways.
WHAT DO YOU SAY?
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