By Lisa Allison | Executive Director
Cats and dogs aren’t the central statistic in domestic violence research but they are a key factor as to why women may choose to remain or delay leaving a violent situation. As we move more fully into the second year of the Purple Paw Project we continually find that almost anything can be an obstacle or barrier to flight, and we have to modify how we provide assistance.
Studies have shown that as many as 54% of women in abusive relationships reported that their partner had hurt or killed one or more of their pets. This shows an obvious need for shelter for these pets, and thus we created the project. But how do they reach us? That may be the biggest obstacle next to making the decision to leave. Many
families have no transportation or once they arrive at the domestic violence shelter cannot get the pet to us. After
seeing many women unable to reach safety due to transportation issues regarding their pets, we are currently working to overcome this obstacle by offering methods to get the pets to us from the shelters. We have, in the past, arranged for dogs to meet their owners when families found it necessary to flee the state to safety.
Another barrier is fear that their pet will forget them while staying with us. Many clients speak about loneliness during separation and concern that their pet will be sad or unhappy. We encourage visits during the time we are offering shelter and if possible, the family can sign the pet out for the day and return in the afternoon. We make every effort to maintain as much normal activity for all involved so as not to create undue stress. Foster families have been implemented so pets who stay for longer periods of time can do so in a home setting, further reducing stress.
As we move forward, 13 families have already been served with 17 pets, for a total of 637 nights of shelter. We foresee a need for more resources on every level with the exponential growth of the program. We remain the only means of escape for many families, a fact that urges us on every day.
Lisa Allison
Executive Director, Friends of Animals Utah
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