Don’t Feed the Strays! And Other Advice for Animal Lovers

By MC2 Josh Coté, NAS Sigonella Public Affairs

When it comes to adopting and owning pets or dealing with stray animals in the Sigonella area, there are some things you should know. Luckily, we have rounded up some experts to give us advice on how to best take care of the cats and dogs in our neighborhoods and our lives.

We all know there is a big problem with strays in our community and even here on Naval Air Station Sigonella (NAS Sigonella) as well. There are a lot of people who want to help these animals with a little bit of food or maybe even take them off the streets to find a forever home, but it’s not always that simple. Make sure you know the local laws first, and consider reaching out to the local animal groups to get more information before you do so.

Most people may think that there is no harm in feeding the stray animals here on base. It can pull at your heartstrings to see all of the strays around, but that small action may have dangerous, unintended consequences.

“I would like to urge the community to avoid feeding the strays at all costs,” said Army Sgt. Chelsea Krepps, NAS Sigonella Veterinary Clinic Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge. “It is kind of a slippery slope, so if you are feeding the strays here on base, you are creating an easy buffet for them. That attracts more strays and that puts them at risk to be harmed by us. It can put them at high traffic areas where there are cars and injury to them is possible, and injury to the community through being in more contact with strays.”

You may think that you could help by adopting an animal to get it off the streets. Keep in mind that if you do decide to take in a stray, you should first use caution while approaching the animal.

“With stray animals, unfortunately we don’t know their medical history or their behavior at all,” said Capt. John Brandsma NAS Sigonella Veterinary Clinic Branch Chief. “My best recommendation when dealing with stray animals is to leave them alone initially. We don’t want people getting bit because an animal isn’t handled very frequently. That can be a significant public health concern to the local community.”

If you do decide to adopt a stray animal during your time here in Sigonella, remember that you will have to put in the time to train and care for the animal. Also, remember that owning a pet might not be cheap when you consider the cost of ownership to include food, toys, vet visits, and shipment of the animal off the island.

“If you do decide to adopt an animal here in Sicily, that’s awesome!” said Melissa Wenger, president of the Sigonella Animal Welfare Society. However, it is your responsibility to get them off the island when it comes time to transfer. “This can be pretty expensive, especially if you cannot get on a rotator flight,” Wenger said, “so make sure when you adopt a pet start saving some money to make sure you have the funds available for the possible shipping and transportof your animal.”

If you would like to adopt an animal while you are here, you can reach out to one of the multiple organizations here in Sigonella to assist you with that. If you aren’t familiar with any of the many organizations, you can ask around your command and they should be able to get you in touch with the right people.

There are many ways you can help stray animals besides adopting them or accidentally doing something to make the problem worse. You can always get the animal checked to see if it is microchipped so the owner can be located. You can also donate your time, money, or food and supplies to one of the local animal groups to make sure the stray animals keep getting the assistance that they need. Just remember, though owning a pet can be extremely rewarding, please be responsible and consider all aspects of pet ownership when you decide to adopt.