The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2022

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JULY-AUGUST 2022 43 are focused on leaving quickly under the threat of violence, this shouldn’t be the primary focus of our community.” Not Your Parents’ PCS Susan Johnson, a retired diplomat, former AFSA president and now president of the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training, grew up in the Foreign Service. She recalls shipping dogs from post to post as a child. Back then, shipping crates sometimes had to be built from lumber rather than ordered fromAmazon. “But there was much less bureaucracy,” she says, “and traveling with a family dog was not as stressful as it is today.” She adds: “Reunions at the baggage claim area were just as heartfelt and emotional.” With a colleague, Johnson established the Facebook group Foreign Affairs Friends of Animals Network, which has nearly 2,000 members. She says FAFAN was just getting started when Cairo evacuated in 2011, forcing embassy pet owners to leave their animals under uncertain conditions. Since then, it’s become an ad-hoc support network for people trying to navigate the complexi- ties of pet travel: airline pet reservations canceled at the last minute, questions about crate requirements or heat restric- tions on flying, and testimonials about the importance of pet companionship. The CDC ban has also galvanized the Foreign Service community, which has been signing petitions and reaching out to members of Congress to help. Jennifer Nichols, a Foreign Service officer and Pearson Fellow in the House of Repre- sentatives, drafted legislation to ease the burden of the CDC requirements on government personnel. The HENRY Act, which stands for “Helping Employees Navigate Rabies Regulations from over Yonder,” seeks to exempt Foreign Service personnel from the dog ban and provide some additional accommodations for government employees traveling with their pets, while sup- porting the CDC’s goal of keeping America rabies free. For many pet owners, it feels like the rules are changing in the middle of the game. “We got our very first dog last year, about a month before the CDC announced its ban,” says Melissa Honig- stein, an embassy family member posted to Tbilisi, Georgia. “We Bringing pets back to the U.S. used to be as relatively simple as a proof of rabies vaccination, but that all changed with the CDC rules of summer 2021. Mayo, the Honigstein family dog, was adopted in Tbilisi, Georgia, right before the CDC announced its dog import ban. Now the family worries about getting him home at the end of their tour. COURTESYOFMELISSAHONIGSTEIN had always resisted getting a dog, but caved because this sweet stray chose us and put his life entirely in our hands.” She says: “We wouldn’t have adopted him if the CDC had made their announce- ment a month earlier. We’re deeply dread- ing the financial and emotional price we’re going to have to pay to get him to our next post.” Supporting Pets, Supporting People With all the difficulty, it makes you wonder why around 40 percent of Foreign Service members travel with pets (accord- ing to AFSA). Both pet owners and mental health professionals say animals can be a critical wellness component to a nomadic life. “The psychological benefits of pet own- ership are well documented, and are even more important in our mobile lifestyle,” says Jane Vanelli, a Foreign Service spouse and licensed therapist who counsels expats with the Truman Group. “Pets can ease loneliness, provide structure and a greater sense of purpose for both kids and adults. The psychological benefits far outweigh the negatives.” Pets are critical to government efforts to recruit and retain a top-notch diplomatic service. The issue has the attention of AFSA and the State Department. “As much as we can, the OBC is supporting our pet owners,” says FSI’s Johnston. “We understand the important role pets play as our community transitions from post to post.” n