0522HarfordSpring22 - Flipbook - Page 49
Autumn, left, and Jasper, a stray the Martins adopted in Japan.
BY MIKE KLINGAMAN Harford Magazine
W
hen Stacey Martin, an Army sergeant, gets home at night, she
finds Autumn, her dog, by the door, sitting at attention — except
for her tail, which quivers in anticipation. Martin can hardly wait,
either. It’s a treasured time for both.
“I can have the crappiest day at work, but when I walk in she’s so excited
to see me,” said Martin, 26, of Belcamp. “Having an animal love you
unconditionally is a feeling like no other. When I’m depressed, Autumn picks
up on it, gravitates toward me and licks my face. In some of the worst times
of my life, she has brought out those emotions that are near and dear to my
heart.”
That’s the goal of Pets for Patriots, a national organization that networks
with animal shelters to promote adoptions of homeless dogs and cats by
military personnel, both active-duty and retired. Four years ago, while
stationed at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Martin and her sergeant husband,
Antonio, learned of the program and found Autumn at the Humane
Society of Harford County in Fallston. Participants in Pets for Patriots
receive adoption discounts, $150 gift cards for pet supplies and, sometimes,
veterinarian markdowns as incentives.
“The gift card helped so much but, honestly, we would have taken Autumn
anyway,” said Martin.
Since 2010, Pets for Patriots — the brainstorm of a Long Island woman
— has found homes for more than 3,700 animals (85% dogs, 15% cats) with
military personnel.
“One Memorial Day, I had an epiphany while washing dishes,” said founder
Beth Zimmerman, 59, of Long Beach, New York. “I thought about veterans
and the issues they face, and the plight of [homeless] animals that are hard to
adopt.”
Matching the two wrongs, she mused, would make a right.
harfordmagazine.com | SPRING 2022 | 49