The heartwarming story of a charity that takes care of pets for people who are down on their luck

Lee says his pup saved his life. Now a very special organisation is helping keep best friends together – through all the challenges life can throw up.

A serious car crash in 2013 left Lee Leyvraz with an acquired brain injury.

After the accident he was living with his mum, but when she died in 2015 he had nowhere to go and often had to sleep rough.

He admits that in the years that followed he turned to a life of self-destructive behaviour and low-level crime.

In and out of prison, he never had a stable home.

He would regularly sleep on the streets, finally enjoying some reprieve during the pandemic when the government provided him with a hotel room for three months.

During a stint on the street in early 2021, Mr Leyvraz’s son and his friend dropped off a six-week old staffy-shar pei cross with a promise to return for her – but they never did.

Safe Pets Safe Families, a not-for-profitworking with people and pets in crisis, had a pop-up vet clinic in Whitmore Square where Mr Leyvraz brought the puppy, named Pay.

Mr Leyvraz said he had nothing to live for before Pay.

“I just wanted to not wake up, just go to sleep and not wake up,” he said.

“But when I got Pay she gave me something to live for. I had a purpose to look after her.”

Lee Leyvraz with Pay, who he has cared for since she was a pup, at his new home. Picture: Tom Huntley

Mr Leyvraz has since turned his life around. He received housing which has given Pay a backyard in which to run around and play.

After spending some time in prison when Pay was still a puppy, Mr Leyvraz said he could never do that to her again and vowed to turn his back on crime.

“If it wasn’t for Paws & Pals, I wouldn’t have Pay now and I would probably be in jail or dead,” he said.

Paws & Pals, a program run by Safe Pets Safe Families, provides much-needed support to displaced members of the community, including those experiencing homelessness.

The service removes barriers for the homeless and their pets by running outreach support services to pet owners sleeping rough, as well as pop-up vet clinics. It also operates the Fill Your Bowl project, a pet food bank offering free pet food.

Safe Pets Safe Families founder Jennifer Howard at their Marleston warehouse. Picture: Tom Huntley

Safe Pets Safe Families was founded by Jennifer Howard in 2013, about five years after she fled a violent relationship, taking her children with her.

“Just because someone fell on hard times doesn’t mean that they should have to surrender their pet,” Ms Howard said.

For Ms Howard, leaving her relationship meant leaving her two dogs – Missy and Ballsy – behind with her ex-partner, a decision that haunts her to this day.

Ms Howard took the risk of returning to her ex’s house each night to feed them.

“It was just a really quick visit,” she said.

“It was hard because my girl, Missy, she would absolutely cry and whine.

“It’s quite haunting, just trying to hold on to them for so long, the desperation of holding on to them.”

The women’s shelter that housed Ms Howard and her young children when she first found the courage to leave was not pet-friendly.

“I tried reaching out to family and friends,” she said. “I just couldn’t find anyone to take my dogs.”

To this day Ms Howard does not know what happened to her dogs, but believes they were surrendered to a council or animal welfare organisation.

Safe Pets Safe Families has become a foster carer service for animals waiting for their owners to be in a position to take them back.

The service has taken in cats, dogs, rabbits, mice, horses, snakes, chickens and even a camel. Almost all are returned 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.

“We’ve built this from no funding,” Ms Howard said.

“It was just sheer love and passion and dedication and I guess people believed in me and the cause as well.”

Safe Pets Safe Families now has more than 305 foster carers registered in South Australia and around 280 volunteers.

safepetssafefamilies.org.au

www.facebook.com/pawsandpalshomelesssupport

‘THEY WERE MY WORLD’

Two years ago, Dennis Brown suffered a major heart attack which he said nearly killed him. Despite needing to have an operation, Mr Brown said he “didn’t want to go to hospital”.

“I didn’t want to leave the dogs behind,” he said.

His jack russell terriers were his world. Holly is still with him while Tiny has since died.

He did not want to be admitted in hospital and not be able to care for his dogs.

“The doctor said ‘look it’s a miracle you’re alive now, if you wait any longer, you’re gonna be dead’,” Mr Brown said.

Dennis Brown and his dog Holly, at home. Picture: Tom Huntley

Safe Pets Safe Families were called to care for Tiny and Holly for a time and reassured Mr Brown that his dogs would be in safe hands while he was in hospital.

“They couldn’t have been looked after better than if they were with me,” he said.

Mr Brown received photographs from the dog’s foster family the whole time he was recovering in hospital.

“They gave me a chance to relax while knowing they were looked after,” he said.

Safe Pets Safe Families has continued to offer him support.

The 72-year-old lives in a Housing Trust home and struggles to pay vet bills on his own.

When Holly was hit by a car, Safe Pets Safe Families fronted the cost of the vet bill, which added up to thousands of dollars, and set Mr Brown up on a low-cost repayment plan.

SAFE WITH HER BELOVED DOGS

Four-and-a-half years ago, Amber had the strength to walk away from a violent relationship which meant leaving behind her beloved dogs.

The 27-year-old, who did not want her surname published, found herself in a domestic violence situation when she was 20, after her partner of two years began to abuse her.

Amber escaped with her young son, leaving behind two dogs, staffies Rufus and Ruby.

She said it almost destroyed her.

“My dogs literally did save my life – they jumped up and protected us in a situation where I was probably a goner,” she said.

Every night for weeks after leaving, Amber would take the risk of returning to her old home to feed her dogs.

“That was probably the most traumatic part of the whole situation because I guess the whole time you’re thinking about what’s happened and knowing that you could be walking into it again,” she said.

“But at the same time I feel like when you buy an animal, you make a commitment to them and I couldn’t just leave them there.

“I needed for my own peace at the time to make sure that they were OK as well.”

Amber said that her ex-partner, against whom she has an intervention order, would threaten to hurt and kill the animals as a way of controlling her.

“I was getting threats every day about my dogs as a way of, I guess, causing me pain,” she said.

“I think it would’ve been followed through if I hadn’t got them out when I got them out.

Safe Pets Safe Families founder Jennifer Howard at their Marleston warehouse. Picture: Tom Huntley

When Amber was at a counselling service, a few weeks after she escaped, she explained how not having her dogs was affecting her.

They gave her a brochure for Safe Pets Safe Families.

The organisation brought Rufus and Ruby to foster homes where they stayed for three months, while Amber got back on her feet.

Amber is now a Safe Pets Safe Families ambassador.

Lifeline: 13 11 14

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