Rusty, an energetic chocolate lab puppy found his way into the arms of a loving, single infantryman. The sergeant who owned Rusty found him at an adoption day at Petsmart. "He was calling my name." Sgt. Randy Cole, from Fort Lewis, said on R&R from Afghanistan recently, "They had them in these little baby gate like things and I went over and looked in. He jumped up and licked my face. I was sold." Cole then went through the process of housebreaking and training Rusty. "He became my best friend over the next year. If I had to go to the field I used a kennel that we both loved." His eyes became sad. "I had to find him a new home when our unit received deployment orders. I miss him, but  I did what was best for him, for both of us."

Rusty was lucky, Cole had no problems finding a new home for him. He placed a couple ads on lewisyardsales.com and craigslist.com and carefully interviewed families before rehoming him. What happens to other furry friends when their owners deploy?

Unfortunately animal shelters around military posts see an increase of abandoned animals compared to civilian communities. Deployments, training events and permanent change of stations-especially those overseas can separate pet from human. In Cole's case he would have liked to have had someone to take care of Rusty just until he came home, but that was hard for him to find.

An organization called "Guardian Angel's for Soldiers Pet (GASP)" was formed to help these animals and their people in need. GASP is an all volunteer 501 (c) (3) nonprofit Federal Tax Exempt public charity whose mission is simply "Supporting our military service members, veterans, and their beloved pets to ensure the pets are reunited with their owners following deployment or emergency hardship." GASP has seven objectives that fulfill the mission statement.

According to Linda Spurlin-Dominik, the Founder/CEO, "Our goal is to have a state level management/coordination team actually located in every state in order to better serve our military community with a more "face-to-face" involvement."  GASP has three programs set up currently. The "Foster Home Program" where volunteer "foster families" house the pet(s) of a soldier in need, temporarily, until the soldier is able to return home. The soldier pays for food costs and veterinary bills while away but knows their beloved pet(s) are well taken care of. The "Military Pet Assistance" program which "financially assists with pet related costs involving those pets fostered via our Foster Home program" and a third program known as the  "Military and Veterans Pet Sanctuary Program" Currently there are 92 animals being fostered across the United States right now.

GASP is looking for foster families in every state who love animals.

To volunteer, click on www.guardianangelsforsoldierspet.org, or by call (501) 325-1591 to begin the process.