Manhunt underway for "soldier-dad" of Wyatt and Storm, possibly from Arizona

At the drop of an order, soldiers must be ready to deploy; sometimes only given a few weeks to get their affairs in order prior to leaving this country for a combat zone.

Many mechanisms within the military and private sector are in place to make the transition easier for the service member. For example, apartment leases often have clauses that release a soldier from his/her contract if deployed prior to the agreed upon date.

But there are so many things that need to be done, both inside and outside of the military, before a soldier (all inclusive of the branches) can exit. Rental furniture often needs returned, weapons qualifications must be completed, vaccinations must be up to date; the list goes on and time quickly runs short.

The military allows personal days for service members to get financial contracts in order and to take care of “final wishes” should the worst possible event come about.

When a soldier deploys it takes a social-network of friends and family to step up and assist with details that might be left undone. The military community as a whole does this very well.

All too often, the deploying service member’s “family” is a dog; his pal, his buddy, his unconditional best friend, one that can’t deploy alongside of him, one that has no voice in his care.

In many cases a soldier’s dog is the one thing that has remained stable in an all too often unsettled life.

In Arizona, Wyatt and Storm, Yellow Labrador companions of a soldier deployed to Iraq, somehow got displaced in the aftermath of a deployment.

Left behind with family friends, something went terribly wrong.

Reportedly, one person in the care-giving household developed dog-allergies. Things went downhill from there.

As always, there is probably much more to this story than meets the eye, but the end result is that two kind-hearted and innocent companions of the deployed soldier, through no fault of their own, were surrendered to Pinal County (Arizona) Animal Care and Control.

If not for some caring workers at the shelter, Wyatt and Storm might have reached their “final destination.”

The organization Helping Orphaned Hounds was contacted by workers at the county animal shelter when they became aware of Wyatt and Storm’s circumstances.

The dogs were transferred to Boulder Falls Pet Resort where they have found safe-haven but a “manhunt” is underway to locate the soldier-dad of these beautiful yellow labs.

Sadly, very little information is available. The surrendering “friend” refuses to give the soldier’s name, stating only that he is deployed somewhere in Iraq, narrowing it down to some 50,000 soldiers!

In fact, since “soldier” has become the term most often used by civilians for all branches of the service, it’s not known by this Examiner which branch of the military or what base he was deployed from.

For now, these beautiful yellow labs are safely housed at Boulder Falls Pet Resort on East Deer Valley Road in Phoenix, Arizona, until a reunion with their owner can be facilitated.

If you are Wyatt and Storm’s “soldier-dad” or if you read this and think you know this soldier, PLEASE have him contact Rhonda Wagner Kuehn at Helping Orphaned Hounds 406-697-5975.

Examiner’s Note: For more information on Wyatt and Storm please log on to my colleague's site, Pet Examiner.  For widest dissemination of this information, please cross-post.

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