WUNRN
http://www.charlesullman.com/blog/2014/10/shelter-domestic-violence-pet/
Additional References:
PET CUSTODY & DIVORCE - http://www.charlesullman.com/legal-services/divorce-lawyer/pet-custody-divorce/
KEEPING YOUR PETS SAFE – US National Domestic Violence Hotline - http://www.thehotline.org/2014/08/keeping-your-pets-safe/
Finding Shelter
from Domestic Violence for Your Pet
If you live in a home with domestic violence, chances
are that any pets you own have also been injured. Experts have long known of a
correlation between animal abuse and domestic violence. In
fact, the American Humane Association says that the vast majority of pet-owning
women who enter domestic violence shelters report that their pets have been
hurt, threatened or killed.
If you are putting an end to an abusive relationship, a number of domestic violence resources are ready to help
you and your children. Medical treatment, counseling, legal services,
shelters
and support are available as you leave an abusive relationship and get the new
start you deserve.
What about your pet? Doesn’t your pet deserve to have a safe place
where it can be out of harm’s way? Of course it does.
In the past, few resources were available to protect pets from
domestic violence. Many domestic violence shelters were unable to take in pets.
That has begun to change. A number of programs now offer shelter for pets, away
from the pain and suffering of an abusive environment.
Can Animals & Families Stay Together?
Not all domestic violence shelters allow victims to bring their
pets along with them. However, in some areas, people entering domestic violence
programs can contact organizations such as the Safe Haven
Program to have a pet temporarily placed with a foster family. The Safe
Havens Mapping Project for Pets of Domestic Violence offers a state-by-state
list of sheltering services for pets that have fallen victim to
domestic violence or abuse.
Sheltering Animals & Families Together (SAF-T)
specializes in finding housing for victims of domestic violence and their pets.
This organization understands how important it is to keep a pet and its owner
together when both have been victimized. If you are in search of a shelter
equipped to house you and your pet and keep you both safe, here is a
state-by-state list of SAF-T shelters, including shelters in North Carolina.
The Urban Resource Institute in New York (URI) created the People and
Animals Living Safely (PALS) program. It is part of the
services provided by the Urban Women’s Safe Haven shelter in New York City,
operated by URI. Currently, the shelter has facilities to accept small pets,
including cats. They are seeking additional funding so they can
also provide shelter to dogs.