Meet Prince the Rescue, the Dog Behind Legislative Change for Military Families

When my family received orders to Japan from California, we were very unprepared. These orders were very unexpected, as we thought we had at least two more years in California. However, in typical military fashion we adapted and overcame it.

We had recently adopted our German Shepherd mix Prince from the Humane Society of Imperial County. It was love at first sight, I knew that when we locked eyes, this was my guy.

Though we have moved from coast to coast with the military, this would be our first overseas move.

My research led me to the discovery of a lack of resources and support for military families and their pets. There was also a lot of conflicting information.

There were families telling me they’ve spent $3,000 others $10,000 to bring their pets overseas with them.

We knew that we were willing to pay whatever it took to keep Prince with us. We were one of the fortunate ones that received our orders 6 months in advance. This is not a common occurrence. Depending on the branch of service, it’s possible that service members receive orders weeks in advance.

I looked at Prince, and said, “this will not do.”

That was the beginning of 4 years of advocacy work to include pet transportation fees as part of a permanent change of duty for service members. I started a nonprofit organization called Leave No Paws Behind USA. The core of the mission is to bring legislative change for our service members.

This included waking up at 2 or 3am in Japan to have zoom calls with congressional members. This also included a lot of, “no’s.”

However, the “no’s” did not deter me. If anything, it made my team and I work harder. We compiled surveys and generated data that shows how important it is for the family pet to stay with the military family.

After four years of hard work, we succeeded. The National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2023 has approved pet reimbursement for military PCS moves. Though this does not go into effect until January 2024, it is a huge win for military families worldwide.

The expense is still high for pet relocation, but now it will be a little less of a financial burden for those who serve and protect our country.

Thank you, Prince the Rescue, you’ve changed lives.