Today's guest post is by Elizabeth Cabibi, a professional therapist on Oahu who specializes in helping military families and especially their children. For more resources for military families, click here.

Take it away, Elizabeth...

Pet ownership has been researched and shown to have positive physical and mental health benefits, especially in times of high stress or situations of loneliness.

According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, children can learn valuable life lessons and social skills from pet ownership that may include increased self esteem and confidence, personal responsibility, building positive relationships, understanding the cycle of life and creating a nonverbal empathic relationship with a trusted companion.

But choosing to own a pet, especially with the unique circumstances a military lifestyle creates, is an important decision not just for the family but for the well being of the animal. It is critical to give careful consideration in bringing a pet into a military home and making the long term commitment to care and support this new member of the family.

Becoming a foster home through organizations like the Hawaiian Human Society and the Oahu Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) is an introductory way for a family to decide if they are ready to take on the full-time responsibility of pet ownership. Additionally, there are organizations that are specifically geared towards the military spirit in fostering pets of deployed service members.

The Hawaiian Human Society has Paws for Patriots. National organizations such as Dogs on Deployment, Operation Noble Foster (predominately for cats), and Military Foster Pets are all recognized by the Department of Defense as part of their Pet Assistance Provider program.

Fostering an animal through one of these programs can provide military families with important community service projects, utilizing their sense of patriotism as they provide a deployed service member with the knowledge that their pet is being cared for properly.

Once the emotional and financial responsibility is assessed and the appropriate type of pet (dog, cat, bunny, etc) and breed and size is decided upon, the task moves to finding the new family member. Hawaii has many places to adopt a forever companion: theHawaiian Humane Society, the Oahu SPCA, and Pawprints Animal Rescue are a few choices. But if a family chooses to find a breeder or purchase through a local pet store, it is important to find a reputable source for your needs. Research the breeder or facility as well as take advantage of the Humane Society's website for some facts.

Throughout your search for the addition to the family, another valuable resource to consider is Hawaii Military Pet. Theresa Donnelly, owner, active duty naval officer and animal advocate living in Hawaii, created this website to educate military families on lifetime pet ownership including providing options for military families to keep their pets. To quote her Facebook page, Donnelly provides "a one-stop resource for all Hawaii military pet information, celebrating the bond between all animals and our Hawaii men and women in uniform. We celebrate responsible pet ownership." Her website provides information on choosing a pet, traveling for PCS with your pet, deployment issues, military housing pet policies, and even answers questions like what can you do with pets in the Hawaii pet community.

No matter which road you choose for pet ownership, having a furry creature around the home can be a wonderful experience when done properly. Please feel free to add additional resources that we missed in the comments below.

Elizabeth Cabibi is a licensed Marriage and Family therapist with over ten years experience working with children and their families. She provides individual and family therapy dealing with various issues that could include ADHD, depression, academic/behavioral problems at school, deployment, and life transitions.

Her focus is children and the family unit as a whole. Additionally, she provides popular parenting courses called Breakthrough Parenting. Knowing that the transition for families is difficult when moving, Elizabeth also provides innovative, continual family counseling services via Skype.