My name is Brandylyn Cohea, and I’m asking for your help.

Since February, I’ve been stuck in an incredibly difficult situation. My husband left me for a British woman while stationed overseas, and since then I’ve been waiting, distressed and anxious, for an Early Return of Dependents (ERD) so I can go home.

But I can’t leave my dogs behind.

They’re not “just pets.” They’re our family. They’ve been there for my son and me through all of this, giving us companionship, comfort and emotional support when we’ve needed it most. After everything that’s happened, the thought of having to leave them behind is heartbreaking.

I’m asking the 67th Special Operations Squadron (67th SOS) and the 100th Air Refueling Wing (100th ARW) to please look at my situation and consider allowing my dogs to be included in my ERD.

I know there are policies and procedures, and I understand these decisions aren’t always simple. But I’m asking someone to look at my circumstances as a whole and, please, show some compassion.

I’ve been dealing with the emotional strain of losing my husband and the father of my children, while also knowing that I can’t stay in this country after our divorce because I don’t have a visa or residency here. I don’t know when I’ll be able to return home, and the uncertainty around my ERD has already taken a huge toll on me. On top of everything else, I’m having to worry about what will happen to my dogs, which has made an already heartbreaking situation even harder.

There’s another part of this situation that I need people to understand. My husband left me with all of the household bills and provides only the bare minimum of financial support. I was a stay-at-home mom for more than a decade, and throughout our marriage I put my own career on hold to support him, follow him wherever his military career took us, and take care of our family.

When he left, he also drained more than $10,000 from our joint bank account, leaving me with no savings to fall back on. I’m now trying to figure out how to get myself and my children home with very little financial support and no savings.

Because of this, paying to arrange and ship the dogs home myself simply isn’t an option. I wish it were. If I had the financial means to make this happen on my own, I would. I’m not asking for help because it would be easier or more convenient. I’m asking because, in the situation I’ve been left in, I genuinely can’t do this alone.

For military families, pets are family. They’re there through deployments, separations, moves and all the uncertainty that comes with military life. They provide comfort, stability and companionship, especially when everything else feels like it’s falling apart.

There’s also a very real problem with simply leaving pets behind.

When military families are forced to leave their animals overseas, those animals still need somewhere to go. Someone has to pay for them, care for them, rehome them and take responsibility for them. That can put an enormous strain on local families, shelters and rescue organizations that are already doing everything they can. And in the worst cases, animals can be abandoned or even euthanized because there simply aren’t enough resources or safe homes available.

I can’t just walk away from my dogs and hope that everything will somehow work out.

They depend on me. I love them. They’re my family, and I’m responsible for getting them home safely.

I’m not asking anyone to ignore the rules. I’m asking for my situation to be looked at with understanding and for every possible option to be considered. If there’s a way to make this work, I’m asking the 67th SOS, the 100th ARW and the United States Air Force to please help me find it.

I’ve been waiting since February. I’m exhausted, I’m scared, and I just want to go home.

I want to be able to close this chapter, get back to safety, and have what's left of my family together again.

Please sign this petition and help me ask for a compassionate review of my ERD and for my dogs to be allowed to come home with me.

Military families already make enormous sacrifices. We shouldn’t have to choose between coming home and leaving a member of our family behind when there may be a way to keep us together.

Please help me bring my family home. All of us.