It’s nearly 10 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 7, and while it already feels like nearly 100°, a group of 15 or so volunteers from Wayside Waifs are busy setting up a canopy and carting out totes of dog and cat food, extra leashes, pet toys and more.
Wayside Waifs is a Kansas City-based animal rescue, and today the staff are preparing for an on-site vaccination event and veterinary clinic at Rose Brooks Center, a domestic violence shelter.
“Unfortunately, we know that when animals are being abused, a lot of times people are, and when people are being abused, a lot of times animals are,” said Ashley Stanley, the director of community education and outreach for Wayside Waifs.
She said their partnership with Rose Brooks began more than a decade ago — originally to provide temporary crisis housing for pets when domestic violence survivors escape their abusers.
According to the latest PALS survey from the Urban Resource Institute and the National Domestic Violence Hotline, 37% of respondents said their abuser threatened to harm or kill a family pet.
But some other research reports incidence rates as high as 89% among pet-owing survivors.
Additionally, 50% of survivors in the PALS survey responded that they wouldn’t consider shelter for themselves if they couldn’t bring their pets with them.
“Pets are part of the family. There are such strong bonds that exist between owners and their pets, and once you have that bond with an animal, that sometimes doesn't even become a question,” Stanley said. “It's unthinkable to imagine leaving your pet behind in that situation because it would be like leaving an important member of your family behind.”
Rose Brooks Shelter Manager Brenda Perla said it’s not uncommon for abusers to manipulate that bond between survivors and their pets. Often, abusers will withhold veterinary care, physically harm an animal or threaten to do so if the survivors leaves.
“The pet is, sometimes, unfortunately, one of those pawns that gets used as leverage,” Perla said, “to try to keep that survivor in in that relationship and for the abuser to keep having the control.”
Perla said that's why Rose Brooks began a pet program back in 2012. Since then, the program has expanded — now offering the Purr Palace for cats and Paws Place for dogs, which provide safe, solo kenneling and enrichment opportunities for up to ten families’ pets at a time.
Perla said survivors in individual rooms can keep their animal with them much of the time, but also can know their animal is safe and looked after when going to work or running errands.
“They've had to be in survival mode together,” Perla said. “So, I think that's one of the precious things about working here is that we're trying to keep that bond as close as possible together. That way, they are able to keep going on to their next chapter.”
Bringing veterinary care to survivors
After around an hour, a large bus pulls into the shelter parking lot. It’s covered in purple and white, as well as pictures of animals, and it carries everything needed for a veterinary clinic on the go.
This bus is part of Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine’s outreach program — which provides comprehensive wellness checks and preventative care directly to underserved and isolated populations.
“Most of the pets just needed some vaccines,” said Elizabeth Scarbrough, the K-State community outreach and shelter medicine intern. “It sounds like a lot of them are for housing-related issues … they were pretty much happy and healthy.”
She said that vaccinations — especially the rabies vaccine — is essential when survivors begin looking for housing.
Today, she’s leading a team of first- and second-year student veterinarians. She said the clinic is a good opportunity for students to practice their observational and conversational skills, as well as learn how to engage with human and animal survivors that have experienced trauma.
“We can learn everything medically, but that doesn't matter if you can't explain it to someone or connect with someone to where they can trust you to do the medical things, or do the surgery, or just give the pill — all of those things come with building trust, and that comes with communication and meeting people where they're at,” Scarbrough said.
Throughout the next few hours, the student vets meet with survivors and their pets — both dogs and cats — and gave each animal a thorough exam while also addressing any questions and concerns the survivors had.
Scarbrough said she hopes the experience will prepare students for when they have a veterinary practice of their own by making them more capable of engaging with domestic violence survivors and, perhaps, more able to spot potential signs of abuse in clients.
“Everyone is worthy of the human-animal bond, and just because you are in a situation that is extremely difficult does not mean you are any less worthy of that care — I'd argue you're even more worthy because ... vulnerability takes so much power and bravery,” Scarbrough, said. “It hurts my heart that they feel the need to apologize [to their pets], but I understand why, and it's my job, as a veterinarian, not only to care for the animal, but to care for the person and their bond, and to build them up to remember that they are worthy.”
Finding save haven in your community
Dana was one of the Rose Brooks residents that brought her dog, Freya, to get checked out. For safety purposes, we are not using their real names. She said she’s worried because Freya has been losing weight and hasn’t seemed as interested in her food as of late.
Dana explained that the last few months have been hard for the pair — since escaping their abuser earlier this year. One night, her abuser violently attacked her, but Freya “got him off of me” by biting him.
“He kicked her really hard, but I was able to get out and away from him,” Dana said. “She saved my life.”
Since then, their abuser has been arrested, and Dana has been trying to rebuild their lives. She said it’s hard work that has been tumultuous, at times. They’ve spent some time living in a car and Freya spent has had to stay, at times, with family members and at a boarding facility — separated from Dana.
Then earlier this summer, Dana said she was delivered a “Godsend” — a spot at Rose Brooks.
Being at the shelter, she said, has allowed her to work three jobs and earn money for a future apartment, all while knowing Freya is safe at the facility.
Today, the student veterinarians discovered that Freya has a rotten tooth that needs to be pulled and likely has worms, both of which could explain the loss.
"It's clear that people will sacrifice themselves for their pets ... people will feed their pets before they feed themselves, so it's not just a question of leaving [an abusive situation]. There are so many factors that we can't control ... we were just listening to a story about a dog who protected his person while she was being abused, so how can you question that bond? It's not a question of if you can just leave. It's not that simple."Elizabeth Scarbrough, K-State Community Outreach and Shelter Medicine intern
Luckily, the clinic was able to give Freya a dewormer, help Dana schedule a future oral health appointment to remove the tooth, provider her with several months of flea and tick preventative, and set her up with some additional supplies, such as a leash, food and toys.
“Just to know she’s okay is invaluable, you can’t put a number on that, and I am so grateful for this today because she is my best friend, she’s my rock, she’s the reason I’m here,” Dana said. “She kept me going when I wanted to give up, so, I would pay any price, but I am glad … I didn’t have to.”
“There is … this dedication to this animal who has been by me throughout all of this, or who has maybe interrupted a violent upload and has protected me, or you know who I've wanted to protect but haven't always been able to because I didn't have the resources,” Claire Coughlin said.
She’s the director of the Companion Animals Program for the Animal Welfare Institute. “And so, people are incredibly dedicated to the animals that have been with them and through these things with them.”
Coughlin said the AWI launched the Safe Havens for Pets directory in 2011, which is a searchable database of domestic violence shelters that provide resources to survivors with companion animals.
She added that the latest estimates show that approximately 20% of domestic violence shelters in the country are now pet-friendly, “which may not initially sound great, but it is actually up quite a lot from several years ago.”
But unfortunately, survivors are not always aware those resources exist. According to the URI’s PALS report, 72% of respondents were not aware that some shelters accept pets.
Coughlin says that “pet-friendly” looks different from shelter to shelter — some have private rooms for pet owners, some partner with rescues for short term holds and some use short term fosters to provide a safe place for pets while the survivor rebuilds.
“So, we see a lot of very creative approaches,” Coughlin said.
When it comes to shelters, she said the AWI has developed resources to help them identify and determine what options may be best for them, as well as created safety planning materials that can be used to prepare survivors.
And they’ve worked to get policies passed that protect the pets of survivors, such as the inclusive of pets in protection orders in many states.
But, Coughlin said, one of the best things shelters and loved ones can do is just know about pet-friendly resources that exist and be willing to help survivors — two and four legged alike.
“Most Americans identify pets as family members, and… often that bond is that much stronger for someone who doesn't have healthy relationships elsewhere in their life, who doesn't have support,” she said. “That bond is incredibly strong, and the idea of breaking it is, I mean, no more manageable to think about than breaking a bond with a child for survivors.”
You can read a full version of the radio script — here.
