Protecting pets and families
Roughly ten years ago, Jennifer Howard fled from domestic violence (DV) with her children. She couldn’t, however, take her dogs Bulzie and Missy to the DV shelter, and her feelings of guilt and grief for the pets she never saw again still linger to this day.
“It was absolutely heartbreaking,” she says, “they were my first children.”
Animal protection is a critical yet sorely under-appreciated aspect of tackling domestic violence. Many women stay in abusive situations or return to them out of fear for their pet’s safety. Others even have their pets used as an emotional weapon against them.
Published by The QUO.
