When someone is escaping domestic violence, worry for a pet can become one more barrier between them and the help they need.
Nearly half of domestic violence survivors delay leaving an unsafe situation out of fear for their pets. Yet just over 20% of domestic violence shelters can accommodate pets. That leaves too many survivors with an impossible choice: leave a beloved companion behind, or stay in danger together.
With your support, survivors don’t have to make that choice.
Since 2010, we’ve partnered with shelters to add pet-inclusive spaces, from kennels and converted rooms to full additions, so families can reach safety together. When we started, only 3% of shelters nationwide welcomed pets. Today, just over 20% do. But there is still more work to do.
Our team recently finished a project at Halifax Humane Society: a space that houses pets while their people seek safety and services like housing. When their families are ready, these pets go home to the people who love them.
Will you help more survivors reach safety with their pets? Your gift this Domestic Violence Awareness Month helps fund future shelter builds and renovations, so no one has to leave a pet behind.
