Finding Pets for Patriots

While growing up in Lido Beach, Beth Zimmerman developed a love of country and a soft spot for sheltered animals. She has since wed these childhood values into a charitable organization, Pets for Patriots, which unites homeless dogs and cats with military men and women at any stage in their careers.

“We had always adopted shelter dogs in my family and we were always raised to have an abiding sense of patriotism and respect for everything our veterans have done for our country,” said Zimmerman, now a Long Beach resident. “It just literally occurred to me that with the action of pet adoption we could literally save two lives.”

As testimony to her epiphany, the charity’s website posts letters and videos from military people who benefit from the program. In one video, Mario (whose surname is withheld, as in all testimonials), a Marine veteran of three tours in Iraq, explains that the military retired him due to an autoimmune disorder he developed overseas, after which he adopted Kona, a Husky, from a shelter.  

But Kona needed a leg operation and Mario was unemployed and unable to pay $3,000 for the surgery. He faced having to put the dog down. Later he learned about Pets for Patriots and became a member of its program, which made the cost more affordable through a partner veterinarian.

“Just the simple thing of them helping out with getting a dog in my life just really helped to boost my spirits,” Mario said.

Mario and Kona are among 209 military people and pets who have been united across thirty states since Zimmerman founded Pets for Patriots in 2009. She recognized that Mario’s case is representative of the program, in that short-term financial hardship for military personnel is a primary hurdle to pet adoption. So the organization provides a range of financial support through partners, sponsors and direct contributions. “It’s to help make pet adoption an affordable reality over the lifetime of an adoptable pet,” she said.

Partners include the AW2 Army Wounded Warrior Program, a U.S. Army advocacy program for wounded, ill or injured soldiers and veterans. Most sponsors are animal-related businesses but also include Flooring America, a nationwide provider of floor coverings. The Board of Directors consists of people from across the country that were introduced to the organization.

Last year Zimmerman started to build what is now a small army of volunteers who take on more responsibilities. Her goal is to have the organization operate in all 50 states. Initially, she personally made calls to Long Island-wide animal shelters and veterinarians. Success, though, relies on a high representation of veterans in the program, but the tri-state area has proved a tougher place to recruit.

“I think we just don’t have as much of a veteran- and military-oriented culture here in the tri-states as in other parts of the country in which the military is very much a way of life for many people,” she speculated.

Zimmerman, who also owns a business strategy company, expects this will improve as she collects more stories of successful adoptions from around the country, especially those that touch on what she calls the “halo effect” that the program has on family members and others who are impacted when a military service member adopts a pet.

“While not all of our veterans that adopt are disable or coping with things like depression, many of those who do come to our program are struggling with some psychological condition or trauma,” she explained. “And the change that occurs in their life through adopting a companion animal naturally extends to their family members and their coworkers and other people that they interact with in their community on a daily basis. We hear this over and over again that the transformation goes beyond the person and the pet.”