We are excited to share March’s nominations to our DoD Honor Guard! We have received so many amazing nominations for DoD Boarders going above and beyond the “call of duty,” and here are just some of them that are selected. Volunteers recognized in the Dogs on Deployment Honor Guard receive a $250.00 Tractor Supply Co. gift card and earn a badge on their DoD Boarder online profile!
Category of DoD Boarder
Cheryl Murphy
With Gratitude from Alyssa Lynch, US Air Force
“Cheryl and her 3 children were exceptional with Jackson during my deployment! Jackson is a shelter dog from Texas, I am his second home and he is riddled with anxiety from his unstable past. I was so worried to leave him with people he didn’t know, thinking that he would feel abandoned and afraid. Cheryl made him feel right at home! She brought him for walks and hikes everyday. She spoiled him with open roof Jeep rides.
Her kids played ball with him constantly, he became the kids study buddy as they were doing virtual school work. Cheryl kept in contact with me through my entire deployment, sending me pictures all the time of all the fun Jackson was having. I could see the smile on his face in every photo. It really put me at ease, making my deployment that much easier, knowing he was fitting right in and receiving SO much love from all of them. Cheryl even sent me a picture of Jackson wearing a military colored sweater her mother made for him, it was awesome!
On top of all this, days before I dropped Jackson off with Cheryl, he was diagnosed with allergies and an ear infection. Cheryl didn’t hesitate to still care from him. She had no problem giving him daily medication and trying her best to help relieve his allergy symptoms.
I cant thank her enough for caring for Jackson during my time away. Cheryl and her kids being recognized by DOD will only shows a fraction of how thankful I am!”
Robin Richard
With Gratitude from Nicole Banks, US Navy
“Mrs. Robin Richard watched my dog Diva for an extended deployment. The ship’s schedule was always changing and I could not give her an exact date of when the ship will be home. While I was on deployment COVID hit and Mrs. Robin Richard, not matter what was going on in the world and her own stresses still kept in contact with me and updated me on my dog and how the World was going through so much. As this is going on, her husband was deployed as well, and I know the stresses of being away from family and his ship’s schedule was up in the air as well. I just want to show thanks to Mrs. Robin Richard for lessen the stress of my daily tasks by caring for my dog as if it were her own.“
Samuel Peters
With Gratitude from Mario Farrugia, US Navy
“We had to pcs at very short notice from overseas and we had to send our rescue Ella ahead of us since pets were not being flown due to Covid-19 restrictions. A fellow service member mentioned Something dogs in Deployment, since we had no family members who could receive Ella prior to our arrival. We contacted Sam and his family who were listed as boarders. They put our minds at rest and were simply outstanding boarders! Coordination With them across continents was great, even at such a short notice. Indeed, they were waiting for Ella before she even got to them! When we did eventually make it to the US after a challenging move from overseas, Sam’s family personally drove Ella to our new residence. Not only did we meet an outstanding boarder, but we made a lifelong friend!”
Christall Murphy
With Gratitude from Rachel Marino, US Navy
“Christall Murphy has taken care of my dog Bumi over my 4 deployments over the course of the past two years. She treats my dog like he is one of her own, and I never worry about the love and care he is being given while I am away. She introduced him to a new dog adventure camp, continues his training, and has helped me with post-operative rehabilitation appointments and PT after invasive ligament surgery.
Even when I am home, Christall welcomes Bumi into her home on days I cannot be away from work. As much as Bumi has become a part of Christall’s family, she has become an integral part of mine and my experience during my deployments would not be the same without her unconditional kindness, and continual generosity. I am thankful for her and for Dogs on Deployment for bringing us together.”
Category of Military Member & Pet Owner
Taylor Leugers, US Army
The Leugers found that returing back to the US from Italy with their puggle and Australian Shepherd mix was going to be very costly and complicated, especially in light of recent COVID-19 restrictions and increases in costs. “My puggle Maisy is on the restricted breed list and we had to use a private shipper to get her over here, so we’ve been prepared to use a private shipper to get her back but we were not prepared to have to use a private shipper for our other dog. Australian shepherd, 3 yrs old male. We also can’t go out of our local airport (Venice) and have to travel 5 hours to Rome with both dogs or we pay the private shipper to pick them up from the house and drive. We also can’t ship them into my final destination (San Antonio) and have to go into Houston instead.”
With fundraising efforts, Dogs on Deployment and our donors were able to grant Maisy and Rumple a grant of $1,615 to help with their move through our Rich Setzer Memorial Grant. The family was truly grateful for the assistance.
Other Military Members to Be Recognized
Additional pet owners to receive a Tractor Supply Gift card as a part of the DoD Honor Guard for the month of March include:
- Mario Farrugial, US Navy, who had Ella boarded
- Rachel Marino, US Navy, who had Bumi boarded
- Cody Arnold, US Navy, who had Gus neutered through our Rich Setzer Memorial Grant Spay and Neuter initiative
Dogs on Deployment extends a very special thanks to Tractor Supply Co. Read more about our incredible partnership by clicking here.
Follow the DoD Honor Guard program with #dodhonorguard!
