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PCS ends in tragedy when family pet dies in transit
A small 10-year-old Pomeranian mix, named Kolbie, is said to have passed away while under the watch of Air Mobility Command. Amber Panko, one of the owners, came forward to write a gut-wrenching testimonial of what they experienced. The incident is said to have recently occurred during a permanent change of station (PCS) to Japan.
Kolbie (Photo courtesy of Amber Panko)
Every branch of service has a different process to secure a pet space in military flights, called the rotator or patriot express. These government-chartered flights are specifically for PCS purpose. Not every overseas location has this service, and these spots fill up quick. This means families have to outsource and find pet shippers paying thousands of dollars to take their pets with them.
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When taking these military flights, they usually have multiple stops, as was in the case of Kolbie. It was during their stop in Yokota, Japan that Amber started noticing the red flags. The outside temperature was 100 degrees. They had asked if they could keep the dog indoors due to the temperature, they were denied.
During their stop at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, the family was informed Kolbie did not make it. A necropsy confirmed Kolbie had suffered a heat stroke. His internal body temperature was 106.7 degrees. Amber’s husband, Gunnery Sgt. Christopher Panko, has taken to social media to express his disappointment with the lack of transparency and communication.
Reports indicate that 2 other pets on this same flight did not make it, if this was your family, please contact us.
How you can help
There are still many lingering questions. Were these ground crew Live Animal Regulation certified? What safety measures are there for transporting pets in a PCS? Did anyone double check with the families that the second relief break was done? Because these questions are still unanswered, the policies for pet transportation for our military families need to change.
Military leadership, these are your troops. This is their morale and welfare. Let’s change the policy. For Kolbie.
Kolbie (Photo courtesy of Amber Panko)
Join me in our fight to change policy, go to Leave No Paws Behind for different ways to support our mission.
The following is an expert from Amber Marie’s full Facebook post:
“The morning of July 3rd we had to tell our children.. We explained that it was because of someone’s poor decision that he didn’t make it. He yelled and screamed and said things I never thought my 10 year old would say. I don’t blame it though, I feel the same way.”
