New Shelter offers Place for Abused Women and their Pets

A women's shelter in Arlington, Va is now set up to take not only abused women and children but their pets as well.  This new project called, Doorways for Women and Families Safehouse, is the first that allows women to save their beloved pets from abusive relationships when they leave too. 

It's not something that is well known, but many women will refuse to leave an abusive relationship because they will have to leave their pets behind.  Those pets that are left behind are often threatened, abused, tortured and even killed in retaliation against the woman for ending the relationship.  Since there is such a strong connection between animal abuse and domestic violence, the shelter has started asking women about their pets as part of a regular safety assessment program.

This first of the Doorways shelters is part of the Pets and Women Shelter or PAWS, a national campaign to raise awareness about the problems women with pets have in attempting to leave an abusive relationship.  The shelter in Virginia won a $5,000 grant to turn an old shed in the backyard into a kennel and animal shelter. 

Being able to have your pet with you in a shelter can also be comforting, says Allie Phillips an attorney who came up with the idea.  Her exact words, "When they've lost everything, their home, and all they have is the clothing on their back, feeding the dog, going for walks, gives them a sense of normalcy."  She is now the Director of Public Policy at the American Humane Association.

Many women's shelters across the country do house pets in temporary kennels or foster care off site.  However, the women and children who own those pets can't go visit their pets for safety reasons.  This can add to the trauma of leaving their home and dealing with legal issues involving the end of an abusive relationship.