Dogs are an Airman's best friend

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Joanna M. Kresge
  • 2nd Bomb Wing Public Affairs
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. --  Early every Saturday morning when most people are still at home in bed or watching Saturday morning cartoons with their children, Staff Sgt. Samantha Plemons is entering a dark room. She can hear the distant sound of dogs barking and whining and smell animal hair and pet food in the air.

The 2nd Aerospace Medicine Squadron force health management technician spends the rest of her morning bathing, feeding, walking and playing with various breeds of puppies and dogs with her fellow volunteers.

For many, the Bossier City Animal Control Hand-in-Paw adoption day is just a bullet to add to their Air Force Enlisted or Officer Performance Reports. However for an animal lover like Sergeant Plemons, it's an escape.

"I guess I chalk it up to, sometimes you just got to get away from people," she said with a smile. "I've been around animals my entire life and it's kind of like a calling. I feel like I need to go help them because if I don't, no one else will."

Sergeant Plemons started volunteering at Bossier City Animal Control in September 2004 shortly after arriving at Barksdale and less than a year later co-founded the Hand-in-Paw adoption day.

"We try to do it every weekend with the exception of holidays," Sergeant Plemons said. "The time dedicated is up to the volunteer. Some people stay all day, but we need the most help in the mornings at the shelter to get the animals ready to go to the pet store. Once we get to the store, we set up the cages and tables. Throughout the day we walk the animals, pass litter boxes around, put water out and help people who want to potentially adopt, to socialize with the animals."

One of Sergeant Plemons' own dogs, Lucy, was adopted through Hand-in-Paw. The Plemons family has two miniature schnauzers; Lucy, 6 years-old, and Mysti, 13 years-old.

"I can come home after a bad day, and they are always so happy to see me, it's such a good stress reliever," Sergeant Plemons said. "I couldn't give them up for anything, especially my oldest because we have been together for so long. Their love is unconditional and they rely on us so much, you can just see it in their eyes."

In the beginning of their relationship, prior to the birth of their daughter, both Sergeant Plemons and her husband, Staff Sgt. Brian Plemons, 2nd Civil Engineer Squadron fire department crew chief, agree that their dogs are more like members of the family.

"Those dogs are our kids," said Sergeant Plemons' husband. "Our walls are covered with photos of them and we care for them as if they are our children."

The Plemons' recently added another member to their family when Sergeant Plemons became pregnant. Ignoring fatigue, swollen extremities, a large stomach and contraction pain she continued to volunteer until the day she gave birth.

"I was actually in active labor during an adoption day and I didn't know it," she said with a chuckle. "That's how involved I've been. I didn't really think anything of it because the contractions were just kind of off to me, but it turns out, I was definitely in labor."

According to her husband, with the recent birth of their first child, Sophia, 5 months, Sergeant Plemons' level of dedication to the four-legged community has still not wavered.

"She will pretty much do anything she has to in order to provide care for the animals around her," he said. "If she sees an animal wandering the streets, she'll bring it home, take care of it and make sure it has a home. If it doesn't, she'll a place where its needs can be met."

A love of animals must run in the family because baby Sophia is already mirroring her mother's passion.

"She is always reaching out for the dogs and my oldest dog has been 'Momma dog' to her - that is her baby," Sergeant Plemons said. "She is very interested in animals; I try to keep her socialized with animals so she's not scared, and I plan on teaching her how to care for animals, how to handle them and which ones to stay away from. I want her to one day appreciate these animals and realize what you do for them is rewarding."

If someone asked her how she finds time to be a mother, wife, student and Airman and still stay dedicated to volunteer activities, Sergeant Plemons probably wouldn't know how to answer.

"I don't know how I do it, I just do it," she said after a long pause. "All I know is I have to take care of the baby, and I have to take care of the dogs, their needs come before anything with me."

Her dedication does not go unnoticed.

"I am very proud of her," her husband said. "She does so much, but I know she's doing the things that her heart desires and that's all that matters."

A life dedicated to animals has left Sergeant Plemons with countless memories; however, one such memory from one of the many animal hurricane shelters she assisted with stands out in her mind.

"During Hurricane Rita I was getting all the rescued and evacuated animals situated and I came across this puppy that felt like it had caked-on dirt all over it," she said. "I figured once things settled down we would have time to bathe it. When I came back its skin was flaking off, so I called over a veterinarian who was helping out. This puppy was engorged with worms and had mange. Luckily, we had the solutions and shampoos to treat him. We de-wormed him, gave him his shots, bathed him in special shampoos and wrapped him up in a towel. I held him in that towel for most of the storm. We found out later from the people who rescued the animals that someone shoved that puppy into a mailbox. Luckily, he broke out of there and was saved; otherwise they would have missed him. We nicknamed him 'mailbox'."

It is stories like this one that keep Sergeant Plemons going back to the shelter week after week to make a better life for animals.