Years ago when I was training to volunteer for a local domestic violence hotline, the very first thing we discussed were reasons why battered women and men "Don't just leave?" Our trainer told us there are myriad reasons, and that often people in abusive relationships stay to protect their kids, their parents or their pets -- the abuser will threaten to kill their loved ones if they leave.
So last week, when I attended Purina's Better with Pets Summit in New York, I was intrigued to hear Rita Garza of the NYC nonprofit Urban Resource Institute describe a new "co-sheltering" model that helps survivors of domestic violence by sheltering them as well as their pets. She said studies show as many as 48 percent of people in abusive situations stay out of concern for their pets' safety, and more than 70 percent of pet owners entering shelters report their batterer had threatened, injured or killed their pets.
These stats are alarming, but the stories Garza shared from her clients really shook me. One woman's batterer put her cat in the microwave and kept his finger on the button, threatening to cook the cat if she didn't do what he said. Another choked her dog until it passed out. Yet another woman would come home minutes later than expected, and find her cat bound in duct tape -- her abuser would threaten to do it any time she tried to stay late at work or not do what he wanted.
"Pets are the silent victims for abusers who want to exert extreme power and control," as Garza later told me. "This happens all the time."
[For more of this story, written by Jen Reeder, go to http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...ets-w_b_6017762.html]
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