Photo By Staff Sgt. Robert Adams | Soldiers with units within the 108th Sustainment Brigade of Chicago visited Kuwait...... read more read more
KUWAIT- Soldiers with units within the 108th Sustainment Brigade of Chicago visited Kuwait Society for the Protection of Animals and Their Habitat (K’s PATH), Kuwait May 28 to volunteer to assist with the shelter’s needs.
This was the second of many of the Kuwait Humanitarian Assistance mission to K’s PATH giving Soldiers an opportunity to volunteer their time and service while interacting with animals.
K’s PATH is a local non-profit animal welfare and environmental protection organization established in 2005 by Chairman and Founder Ayeshah Al Humaidhi.
1st Lt. Anna Chatelain of Aumsville, Virginia, with the 510th Human Resources Company an active duty unit out of Joint Base Langley-Eustis Virginia said she has done animal shelter volunteer work many times and that her experience at K’s PATH was a rewarding one.
“A lot of Soldiers are away from their family, friends and even their own pets so going to the animal shelter can help them make a connection with something that reminds them of home,” said Chatelain. “We can go do something to relieve stress and also do something good by helping the animals.”
Pfc. Miranda Van Hees of West Concord, Minnesota, a training and mail clerk with the 406th HR Co. out of Kaiserslautern, Germany, said she liked being able to interact with the animals in the shelter.
“I needed some animal therapy,” said Van Hees. “I really enjoyed being able to take the dogs on walks and be one-on-one with the animals.”
K’s PATH operates the first and only open door shelter in Kuwait, meaning they accept any and every animal into their care. To date they have provided care for dogs, cats, turtles, tortoises, various birds including eagles and owls, ferrets, rabbits, goats, hamsters, baboons, hedgehogs, chipmunks, hyena, snakes, fox and donkeys.
With such a wide variety of animals at the shelter many Soldiers find the one that they connect with the most. For Van Hees this animal was the donkey.
“I have dealt with horses in my life and I really enjoy brushing and riding them,” said Van Hees. “I was having a lot of fun with the smaller version.”
Van Hess said she was impressed with the shelter itself, because it was spacious and allowed the animals to have a lot of room to run and play.
“It’s sad to see the animal in a shelter, but it made me happy because there is a shelter here that will take care of them,” said Van Hees. “The animals seem really happy now and are in better conditions.”
First Lt. Patrick Clark of St. Louis, Missouri, Security, Plans, and Operations officer, 108th Sust. Bde., said there were two reasons he wanted to set the trip up for his fellow troops.
“One reason is to get the Soldiers involved within our host nation's community by volunteering and secondly is that from my experience caring for animals usually reduces stress,” said Clark. “Though we may not be on the frontline it doesn't mean Soldiers do not experience stress from their jobs and from being away from loved ones.”
Clark said because K's PATH is a non-profit organization and do not have a paid staff to care for the more than 100 animals it shelters, the Soldiers provide maintenance assistance by improving and maintaining the actual shelter itself. This includes painting, post-hole digging for fences, and the cleaning of animal pens. The Soldiers also assist in the health and welfare of the animals by walking, grooming, washing and feeding them.
“I think the idea of doing an unselfish act to better the lives of those around us is important for mental health and relieving stress,” said Clark. “When the opportunity presented itself to do something like this I automatically thought of our Soldiers deployed here in Kuwait and how this could be beneficial in their lives.”
Clark said he plans to get a group of volunteers to help out at K’s Path twice a month.
| Date Taken: | 05.28.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 06.12.2014 09:14 |
| Story ID: | 132876 |
| Location: | KW |
| Web Views: | 244 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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