Pet Chit Grant Keeps Military Family Purring Along
The Dogs on Deployment Pet Chit Financial Assistance Program helps with the burden of financial costs incurred by military families who have pets. And DoD realizes that cats and other domestic pets are part of the family too. “Thank you so much! We aren’t sure what we would have done without the help of Dogs on Deployment,” said Becca and Daniel Gomez after their two cats recently joined them in Okinawa, Japan.
A pet chit for $1500 was granted to the Gomez family that allowed for help with transportation expenses.
Becca is married to Daniel Gomez, E-6 of the United States Marine Corps. She told us, “we rescued two stray kittens nearly three years ago, and they have been ours ever since. The cats — Raef (male), and Minka (female) — are such an important part of our family. They are sweet, loving cats and are as attached to us as we are to them.”
Here’s Raef…
Last year, the couple learned that their next duty station would be Okinawa, and immediately started the process to get their beloved cats ready to come with them. That meant lots of costly trips to the vet as well as following through with the appropriate paperwork. But after Daniel’s orders were delayed, they found out that there was no room for any more pets aboard their scheduled flights to Japan.
The Gomez family had to find a way to have Raef and Minka join them – they had no family or friends who could take the cats in, and couldn’t bear the thought of rehoming them.
… and Minka!!
Peace of Mind & A Family Reunion
With some research, the couple discovered Sarah’s Pet Paradise pet transportation company, who Becca said were wonderful to work with, and provided the necessary travel for the cats.
“Although we were extremely happy with their services, they did not come cheap,” said Becca. “It was very expensive to transport not just one, but two cats. The pet transport company gave the Gomez’ information about grants offered by Dogs on Deployment. We reached out to DoD and were awarded a grant that really helped financially and made it possible for us to afford getting our pets to Japan.”
Added Becca, “If anyone finds themselves in a similar situation as us, there is help out there, and I highly recommend reaching out to Dogs on Deployment! They offered us help very quickly after reaching out to them. Our cats made it safely to us and we all couldn’t be happier! Thank you again DoD for helping to keep our little family together!
SAW Contracting, Inc. Sponsorship Help Animals
This local success story is brought to you by SAW Contracting, Inc., a proud supporter of Dogs on Deployment’s Hampton Roads Chapter.
SAW Contracting is a commercial construction company that provides services for preconstruction, general contracting, and construction management. SAW Contracting is classified as an 8(a) Certified, Small and Minority owned (SWaM) business, and Service Disabled Veteran Owned Business (SDVOB) based out of the Virginia Beach, VA and higher Hampton Roads area.
