Safe Pets Safe Families calls for volunteers, donations to help people leaving violent households to keep their animal
WHEN Amber found the courage to leave a violent relationship she couldn’t bear to leave her dogs behind. Thanks to volunteer helpers, she didn’t have to.
WHEN Amber found the courage to leave a violent relationship she couldn’t bear to leave her dogs behind.
“That was the hardest part for me because my dog Rufus, he stopped a lot of things happening to me,” said the 24-year-old, who did not want her surname published.
“If it wasn’t for Safe Pets, Safe Families I wouldn’t have been able to fully get out of that relationship.”
That organisation, run by animal-loving volunteers, is helping so many like Amber who feel trapped in abusive relationships because they don’t want to part with pets.
Very few domestic violence shelters in South Australia accept pets and it can be hard to arrange for friends or family to take animals at short notice.
International research supports reports from victims that violent partners often use abuse of pets as a form of psychological control.
The Advertiser has been told stories of abusers who have shot their partner’s dog in the head or cut off a cat’s ears.
Amber, whose ex-partner is subject to a court intervention order and has been charged with an offence, said her dogs were “the things that keep giving you comfort when everything else bad is happening”.
When Amber and her young son fled to live with her parents they could not take their English staffy Rufus or American staffy Ruby.
Instead, Safe Pets Safe Families volunteers collected the dogs and provided foster care for two months.
The service was founded by Jennifer Howard in 2013, about five years after she fled a violent relationship with her children but could not take her two dogs to a crisis shelter.
Ms Howard said she had heard “horror stories” about the treatment of animals by abusive partners and wanted to help families keep their animals.
The service has taken in cats, dogs, rabbits, mice, horses, snakes and even “house trained” chickens. Almost all return to their owners after spending up to three months in foster care.
The service relies on volunteer pet foster carers, donations and sponsorship or discounted services from vets, animal groomers and others.
Safe Pets Safe Families is holding a fundraising gala on October 26.
For tickets email safepetsevents@gmail.com
For support phone 1800 RESPECT or Safe Pets Safe Families on 0435 805 867.