Okinawa Marines Care For Stray Cats

Trolling through FedBizOpps last night for an interesting gadget or gizmo procurement, I came across something even better based on my experience. The Marine Corps on Okinawa (where I had a brief stay before heading to Vietnam) just awarded a $5,600 contract Karing Kennels at Kadena Air Force base to house and feed stray dogs and cats in central Okinawa.

I, of course, wanted to know more, and fired off a note to the Marine PA shop at Camp Butler to find out the extent of the stray dog and cat problem on The Rock, as well as the kind of accommodations and chow provided by Karing Kennels to stray pooches and felines.

Alas, the Camp Butler PA folks must have more pressing inquiries than mine, as I have yet to hear back from them.

But, thanks to Google-based research, I did discover that Okinawa has a serious stray cat and dog problem, due, sadly, to the fact that folks and their families abandon their pets before returning home at the end of their tour, according to this article from Stars and Stripes.

So, kudos to my Marine Corps for having the heart to take care of the Okinawa strays.

My resident cats -- Bootsy, Chessie, Daphne, Inky, and Willa -- asked me to pass on a big "Semper Meow" to the Okinawa Marines.

Real Marines love cats.