Blog the Change: Pets are Domestic Abuse Victims, Too

We believe in the power of change, which is why we enthusiastically support Blog the Change. 
And we pray that today's post gets the word out so that there is, indeed, change on this issue, worldwide.

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Early in 2012, a local story made national news: it was about a Great Dane named J Matthew. When J Matthew saw his mom beaten with a hammer, he thrust himself between her and the abusive man.

As a result, they were both nearly killed. J Matthew’s human is certain that without his brave intervention, she would have surely died.

J Matthew’s owner beat the odds – she left the abusive relationship. One of the reasons she was able to do so was due to a new policy at the Rose Brooks Center in Kansas City, Missouri.

The shelter allowed her to keep J Matthew with her, once he was released from veterinary care. Rose Brooks is the only shelter in the Midwest region that will allow victims to bring pets with them.

Many battered women refuse to leave abusive situations because domestic violence shelters will not make room for their beloved pets.

In fact, according to nationally renowned animal and family advocate attorney Allie Phillips, almost half of domestic violence victims delayed or refused to leave the abusive situation out of fear they would have to leave their animals behind. This makes perfect sense when one considers that a pet is a source of comfort and unconditional love during a time of great distress.

As we well know, our pets are family members. To leave without them under any circumstances is unthinkable. In this, a situation where a pet may be a touch-point of sanity in a world gone crazy-wrong? You can see why a victim might even choose homelessness over seeking assistance if that shelter won’t take their beloved friend in, too.

The Animal Welfare Institute hosts a list, searchable by zip code, of shelters in the U.S. that are considered Safe Havens.

A Safe Haven, by their definition, is “a domestic violence shelter that either provides sheltering services for the animals of domestic violence victims, has a relationship with an entity that does, or provides referrals to such facilities.”

Sadly, most of these do not have on-site facilities to care for a victim’s pets.

When they do, it’s big news. Just a few months ago the Urban Resource Institute launched New York City’s first ever co-sheltering program to enable domestic violence survivors and their pets to reside together in shelter. The project is currently in a six-month test.

 If your area does not have a system in place, there is a resource available to help. And this is the focus of today’s Blog the Change:

Allie Phillips has created the first and only global initiative that provides resources to shelters to help them get to the place where they, too, can offer what Rose Brooks and the Urban Resource Institute now provide: housing for families and their pets.

The program is called SAF-T, Sheltering Animals and Families Together, and they offer a free start-up manual for any organization interested in providing this service to families fleeing abuse.

Please join us in spreading the word. We hope in the near future to be able to report that many other places have followed the ground-breaking work of these fine people and organizations.

Kudos to Allie Phillips, and to Rose Brooks (and Wayside Waifs, the no-kill shelter that worked with Rose Brooks for over a year to help make their pets program a reality). And we’re crossing our paws that the six-month trial in NYC becomes permanent.

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Sources:
Allie Phillips
Washington Times
Ohio Domestic Violence Network
Animal Abuse/Domestic Violence Fact Sheet
Urban Resource Institute
The Rose Brooks Center

Photos:
Great Dane photo courtesy Marcia O’Connor via Creative Commons 3.0 license

Local Hero Dog Saves His Mom, Inaugurates Women's Shelter "Pet Wing"

You know that whole "six degrees of separation" thing? Well, this was a post we just had to share, since we have a second-degree "purrsonal connection" to it!

Well.... you don't Faraday, but our big sister, Allie does.

Besides, it's just a pawesome, wonderful story about a brave dog who stood between his mom and certain death.

We're referring to the story that was picked up this week by MSNBC, the New York Daily News, TIME magazine and mousebreath.com, about a Great Dane named J Matthew.



When J Matthew saw his mom being beaten with a hammer (!!) he thrust himself between her and the abusive man who was doing this to her.


As a result, they were both beaten nearly to death - but they feel certain that without his brave intervention, she would certainly have died.

Now here's where our connection come in ----

Many battered women refuse to leave abusive situations because domestic violence shelters will not make room for their beloved pets --in some cases, they might be only source of unconditional love a person has.

Well, in this case, the woman turned to the Rose Brooks Center, in Kansas City, MO. Rose Brooks has been working with my Alma Mater, Wayside Waifs, for over a year now to develop a way women and pets can stay together. (Wayside also has, for some time, been quietly helping out on a case-by-case basis, too. Isn't my Alma Mater wonderful?!?)

Well, the incredible woman who now functions as the Chief Development Officer at the Rose Brooks Center is the same lady who used to be Wayside's Development Director. She'd wander in and give me chin scritches when I was just a scrappy little Waif myself.
*dreamy look*   Marla's my role model!



And we sincerely hope that the partnership between Wayside Waifs & The Rose Brooks Center -- and Rose Brooks' open door policy toward animals -- serves as a role model for other organizations around the world.



So from all of us at A Tonk's Tail to wonderful, fabulous Marla and the team at Rose Brooks Center ...
HIGHPAW! We salute you!

Please join us on Twitter from noon today through noon tomorrow  -- Jan. 21-22.
We're gonna party as only animals can to raise funds for Wayside Waifs!
Be sure to use the hashtag #pawpawty when you join in.