Protecting victims of domestic violence by protecting their pets

My column this morning at SFGate.com:

It's no secret that a lot of people love their pets, and often consider them to be members of the family. Forty-one billion dollars spent every year on pet food, toys, vet bills, and even little dresses for dogs demonstrates the firm position held by companion animals in our society.

Unfortunately, there's another way pets are often members of the family, and that's when it comes to domestic violence. In research presented at the Fourth International Conference on Family Violence, domestic violence expert Frank Ascione reported that 71 percent of pet owners in a shelter for victims of domestic violence told researchers that their partner threatened to harm or kill their pets. One abuser threatened to bury a woman's cat in the lawn up to the head and "mow" the pet. Other threats included putting a kitten in a blender and starving a dog to death. More than half the victims reported that it went beyond threats, and their pets actually were harmed or killed. The threatened and actual abuse of family pets is part of what Ascione calls "a landscape of terror" in which many families are living.

Last month, things started looking up for California pet owners trying to cope with issues of domestic violence. That's because Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed SB 353, a bill authored by State Sen. Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica) that specifically allows judges to name pets in restraining orders. "This legislation will prevent abusers from harming or threatening to harm animals in order to exert power and control over their human victims," Kuehl said.

That might be a little optimistic, since such orders are often not worth the paper they're printed on when it comes to protecting human victims. However, obtaining one may at least prevent animal control agencies, veterinarians, or boarding kennels from being forced to turn over a sheltered pet to an abuser who is the animal's legal owner.

Perhaps more importantly, this new law offers recognition of how much harm is done to family members when they are terrorized by threats to their animals. "Victims of domestic violence have delayed leaving their homes, delayed seeking safety, because their abuser said, 'You take one step out of the house and I'll kill your dog,'" Kuehl told the Sacramento Bee.

Considering how many people refused to evacuate their homes in the face of Hurricane Katrina if it meant abandoning their pets, it shouldn't come as any surprise that some victims remain in abusive situations because they won't leave a companion animal behind. In fact, Ascione's research found that fear for family pets keeps nearly one in five women caught in domestic violence from seeking shelter.

That's why services for the pets of families where abuse is taking place won't just protect the pets; such assistance will help get victims out of dangerous living environments by eliminating one of the weapons abusers often use to keep their victims from leaving.

The rest is here.

Comments

[archcrone]

TN passed a similar law about a year ago. I haven't' seen anything good, bod, or indifferent, on the effects of this law, however.

PS Christie I've closed ToaAW and am blogging at The Crone Speaks.

[Domestic Violence Attorney]

I have been a lawyer for many years and represent people accused of DV. I found you article very thought provoking and it has caused me to take steps to look in to what can be done in my community.
I am a pet owner and lover myself and they are in fact overlooked in these situations
Good Job.